Change is coming to the command structure at Columbus Police Department, with the establishment of a second assistant chief position.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage, speaking Wednesday morning at a post-council-meeting press conference at City Hall, said CPD would have two assistant chiefs going forward as part of new Chief Joseph Daughtry’s reorganization of the department.
Doran Johnson, who was hired as assistant chief in January 2020 by then-Chief Fred Shelton and who served as interim chief after Shelton’s resignation, will continue as assistant chief for administration at a pay rate of $72,000 per year, Turnage said.
Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell told The Dispatch Wednesday afternoon that $72,000 was Johnson’s existing rate of pay, and he was paid $74,000 as interim chief.
Former McComb police chief Garland Ward was hired last month and will serve as assistant chief for operations at a pay rate of $75,000, Turnage said.
Daughtry said Ward will start at CPD on Feb. 15.
The pay scales were approved during the executive session following Tuesday’s regular council meeting, Turnage said.
“Our civil service rules allow for (two assistant chief positions),” he said.
Speaking to The Dispatch Wednesday afternoon, Daughtry said the old command structure had been in place too long.
“Sometimes an agency has a certain command structure when they first get started and it never changes,” he said. “Every chief comes in and makes organizational chart changes to fit the needs of the department. This is 2023, and this organizational chart is 10 or 15 years old. It’s outdated.”
Under the new system, Johnson will oversee “supply, hiring, recruiting, training, accreditation, code enforcement, animal control, fleet management, building maintenance and records,” Daughtry said.
Ward will oversee patrol, investigations and the crime lab, Daughtry said.
Ward previously served for three years as the McComb police chief, Daughtry said, and has previously worked for the attorney general’s office.
“He has an extensive background in investigations, including being a homicide investigator,” Daughtry said. “He also has an executive skill set and experience with budgets.”
The money to cover both men’s salaries is in the budget, Daughtry said.
“No money is being taken from anybody,” he said. “… I’m using money that this administration had already budgeted before I got here. We’ve moved some slots around and we’ve been creative, because we’ve got to be creative to get things done. We don’t have an unlimited budget.”
Daughtry was careful to say that the change should not be taken as a comment on how previous chiefs did their jobs.
“I’m not saying that previous administrations did it wrong,” Daughtry said. “… I’m not going to bash (Shelton) or any former chiefs because I think that’s unfair. They did it the way they saw fit. (Shelton) was here for many years, and that was his administration. I’m sure 10 years from now somebody is going to find something wrong with what I did.”
The Dispatch was unable to reach Ward by press time.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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