Narcotics Chief

MELTON'S 'POSSE' RIDING HERD

Never known to be the shy and retiring type, Mississippi Bureau of
Narcotics Chief Frank Melton is at his old, cowboy way again, this time
with an armed posse!

A civil trial in the swimming pool death of a child at a Jackson YMCA had
to be stopped briefly Wednesday in Hinds County Circuit Court, so Judge
Tomie Green could consider a motion from Melton to have four members of his
own armed MBN security with him while he testified.

Melton was a volunteer at the swim center when the drowning occurred.

Apparently, the armed, uniformed Hinds County bailiffs in the courtroom and
armed Hinds County deputies guarding the courthouse aren't good enough for
Melton, though they provide security for the judges and everyone else.

The trial is being televised nationally on Court TV.

Mississippians are familiar with Melton' attempts to play Elliott Ness. The
nation just got a glimpse.