OFF-DUTY OFFICER ACCUSED OF SELLING PRESCRIPTION DRUG

A 12-year Jackson police officer is accused of selling a prescription drug
to an undercover Hinds County Sheriff's Department deputy while off duty on
Monday.

Jack Usry, 38, of 455 Holly Drive, Apt. K-5, will be placed on
administrative leave upon his release from the Hinds County Detention
Center on $25,000 bond, said Jackson police spokesman Robert Graham. Usry's
sister, Linda Brown of Jackson, also is being held at the detention center
on a $25,000 bond on a sale of a controlled substance charge.

Usry is one of three JPD officers stationed at Metrocenter mall, Precinct 2
Cmdr. Clifton Paige said. Usry used to work at Precinct 4, Paige said, but
has been in Precinct 2 working the afternoon shift at the mall for about
two months.

"I always liked Jack, and this did shock me," Paige said. "He never had
anything like that in his history."

Usry was at his sister's mobile home on Linde Road on Monday when the
deputy bought about three Xanax pills from them at 8 p.m., then returned
and bought three more around 11 p.m., said Capt. Nick Clark.

"We wanted to make two buys, and that's when we made an arrest," Clark
said. "We received information as part of an investigation going on about
three months. He was in civilian clothes, and he didn't have a city vehicle."

Pharmacist Freddie Smith of Guy's Drug Store in Canton said Xanax is used
to alleviate anxiety, and prescription users take about one to three pills
per day. But he said taking Xanax pills three times per day for about six
months can cause an addiction.

"I don't hear about it being sold on the street," he said.

Both internal and criminal investigations will be conducted by the Jackson
Police Department on Usry, which is protocol when an officer is arrested,
Graham said.

Polly Dorsey has lived in the mobile home park near Brown's mobile home for
about 17 years and knows Usry.

"He seemed like such a nice person," she said.

Other JPD officers have faced charges in the past few months. JPD Officer
Perry Coleman was charged with statutory rape in connection with the attack
of a 13-year-old girl. Coleman was released from the Hinds County Detention
Center and is on paid administrative leave.