Arson Probe Opens After Fire Damages Scandal-Hit Mississippi Police Headquarters

Arson Probe Opens After Fire Damages Scandal-Hit Mississippi Police Headquarters

Fire crews answered a 4:58 a.m. smoke call at headquarters

The headquarters of the Senatobia Police Department in Mississippi was damaged by a fire early Saturday morning, October 31. In a statement cited by The Associated Press, the Senatobia Fire Department said firefighters were dispatched at 4:58 a.m. for smoke in the building and quickly knocked the fire down. Local outlet WLBT reported the fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, and no injuries were announced.

ATF's New Orleans office takes the lead on the case

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local agencies are investigating the fire and whether it was intentionally set. WLBT reported that the ATF's New Orleans office is now leading the case. Interim Police Chief LaMorris Hampton asked anyone who saw anything suspicious to come forward. The Associated Press said it had sought comment from the fire department, the police department and the Tate County Sheriff's Office.

A department already under fire over two scandals

The fire hit a department that has spent recent months under intense public scrutiny. Senatobia, a city about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Memphis, Tennessee, has faced community outrage since a Senatobia officer shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley outside a Walmart in June. In September, its police chief was fired after reporting revealed repeated racist slurs in his private text messages.

A June shoplifting stop ended with a toddler dead

The shooting occurred on June 14. Officers had responded to a shoplifting call at a Walmart, where police said diapers and baby clothes were taken. Officers arrived as the boy's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, carrying her son, left the store with a friend, got into a car and began driving away. Authorities said the car drove toward officers and almost struck one; an officer, identified in other records as Sgt Hunter Foster, fired into the vehicle. Kohen Wiley was killed and the driver was wounded. The mother has denied the theft allegation, according to family accounts cited in coverage.

State ruled the shooting justified; the officer has resigned

The Mississippi Attorney General's Office said in October that the use of force in the June shooting was justified, clearing the officer of criminal wrongdoing. The officer involved resigned earlier this month. Family attorney Ben Crump disputed the finding in a statement carried by ABC News, saying a 1-year-old had been shot and killed and the state now called it justified. The ruling did not end protests in Senatobia.

Chief fired after racist texts exposed in September

In September, reporting by The New York Times, Mississippi Today and Verite News revealed that then-Chief Harold Vanderford repeatedly used racist slurs in private text messages. Mississippi Today later detailed more than a dozen uses across 10 text conversations. The Senatobia Board of Aldermen rejected a resignation letter he submitted that day and voted to fire him.

No link drawn yet; patrols continue from damaged building

Investigators have not said whether the fire is connected to anger over the Wiley shooting, fallout from the chief's texts, or neither. The department says it is still answering calls and patrolling even as federal agents examine its own damaged building. Whether the case proceeds as arson will turn on what the ATF-led investigation finds.

Discussion

When a police department loses public trust and then its own building is damaged, what should it do first to rebuild credibility with residents?