Officials are at odds with a Columbus businessman’s claims that random violent crime is on the rise and local police and media are hiding that information from the public.
Wayne Doyle, Lowndes County District 3 Volunteer Fire Department chief and owner of the IFP tactical firearms training center on Gardner Boulevard, told Columbus Exchange Club members Thursday at Lion Hills Center preparedness is key in an area seeing marked increases in violent incidents — specifically home invasions. He also claimed the public had less than the full picture of how rampant such crimes had become.
“If you knew what happened in Columbus that you didn’t hear about, you’d probably move,” Doyle said.
Scott Colom, district attorney for the 16th circuit court district, told The Dispatch Thursday evening, however, local crime statistics simply don’t back up Doyle’s claims.
“It’s important that we rely on statistics and facts, rather than thoughts or feelings,” said Colom, who maintains crime statistics for his district. “Police are not hiding any statistics. Law enforcement is not hiding statistics from the public. If you actually look at statistics, the last three years, there’s been a normal range for violent crimes in the city.
“Unless you’re relying on official statistics, everybody needs to be careful about what they’re saying in regards to crime in the city and in the county, because we need to make sure we get accurate information to the public,” he added. “Giving inaccurate information just risks misinforming the public, which is always dangerous.”
Colom said home invasion isn’t a charge itself. However, he shared statistics Columbus Police Department and Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office provided to his office on burglaries of dwellings, robberies and armed robberies, and aggravated assaults.
Columbus had 152 burglaries of dwellings in 2016; 184 in 2015 and 165 in 2014. The city reported 35 robberies and armed robberies in 2016; and 25 in both 2015 and 2014. CPD reported 27 aggravated assaults in 2016; 45 in 2015 and 26 in 2014.
Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office reported 23 burglaries of dwellings in 2016; 76 in 2015; and 36 in 2014. It reported 22 aggravated assaults in 2016; 12 in 2015; and 31 in 2014. Robberies saw a jump in 2016, with LCSO reporting 22 cases; three were reported in 2015; and seven in 2014.
LCSO Chief Deputy Marc Miley said random acts of violence are not a problem locally. He said social media, which can churn the rumor mill, can often make things appear to be worse than they are.
“I’ve been here since 1988 or 1989,” Miley said. “I can remember years where we’ve been a whole lot busier than we have lately.”
Often, he said, drugs are the center of home invasions. In those instances, the suspect and victim are acquainted.
“You’ve usually had dealings with the person and there’s an invasion to steal your drugs or drug money,” Miley said. “The last two I can think of, that’s what it’s been.”
Further, he said many of those instances aren’t even reported.
“Are you going to call me and say ‘Someone stole an ounce of my weed?'” he said.
‘Reality-based’ training
Doyle told Exchange members his business provides “reality-based” tactical firearms training, ranging from simulations of home invasions to active shooters at work.
The business provides several firearm training courses, including low light training, defensive handgun training, vehicle defense courses, carbine training course, force-on-force training and courses specifically geared for women.
His clients have ranged in age from 16 to 78.
Doyle said home invasions, unlike burglaries of empty homes, typically aren’t random because they require planning. Most criminals, he said, look for opportune moments when they can get in and get out with minimal trouble.
However, Doyle said criminals do sometimes look for violent confrontations, and it’s important to be ready for it.
“Have you ever thought about what it would feel like to be tied up and have to watch your wife be sexually assaulted by a thug that just broke into your house?” Doyle asked. “It would not be good.”
During his talk, Doyle, who said he’s never more than seven or eight feet away from a firearm, said it’s important to consider how to respond if someone breaks into a home. That includes how to reach children, if they stay in a different room or different part of the house.
For him in and his wife, he said, that includes getting back into the bedroom if he leaves it. Doyle said they have a code word for that purpose.
“Hopefully she locks the door when I go out,” Doyle said. “If for some reason she didn’t lock the door and I come back and open the door without giving her the code word, she’s gonna fill me full of lead, no questions asked. That’s just the agreement we have — if the door opens and she hasn’t heard a code word, she starts shooting.”
CPD Assistant Police Chief Fred Shelton said most burglars that break into homes aren’t looking for confrontation. He said in many cases, it’s safest to retreat out of the home or to an area an intruder can’t reach and wait for police to arrive.
“One of the obvious things is you’re not going to take their weapon, confront them and blow them away,” Shelton said. “Retreat to a room, lock the door and stay on the phone with 911. Let us come and confront them.”
However, Shelton acknowledged that sometimes it’s not possible to wait for law enforcement to reach the scene. Still, he said, those situations can be difficult to prepare when it deals with possibly killing someone.
“Just having the gun does not ensure you’ll be able to stop the attacker,” Shelton said. “Do you know how to shoot it? It’s one thing to shoot a paper target, but if someone is in front of you are you able to shoot and take that person’s life?”
Guns in courthouses
In response to Exchange members’ questions, Doyle said he can see each side to a dispute between 14th Chancery Judicial District judges and Collins firearms instructor Rick Ward on whether guns should be allowed in courthouses.
Collins sued the judges in 2016 over banning firearms in courthouses, which the judges ordered in 2011. That case is now before the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Doyle said it’s a complicated issue.
“I can see both sides to it — I don’t really know yet,” he said. “I don’t want to leave mine in the truck because there could be some crazy in there with one, but then you’ve got something — like (Davidson said in recent Dispatch article) your son just got sentenced to 25 years. You may lose it, and you’re standing out in the hallway. What are you going to do?”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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From left, Scott Colom, Marc Miley and Fred Shelton
