POLICE CHIEF FACES CHARGE IN DRUG CASE

Mosses Police Chief Henry Gordon was arrested Thursday and charged with
drug possession, the Lowndes County town's mayor said.

Gordon, 42, was arrested about 11:30 a.m. by officials with the attorney
general's office and the 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force in addition to U.S.
law enforcement officers from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms,
Lowndes County Sheriff Willie Vaughner said.

"His arrest was enough to suspend him without pay pending the final legal
outcome of the situation," the mayor said.

"The fact that the police chief has been formally charged with possession
of a controlled substance -- crack cocaine -- is sufficient to justify the
immediate action of the mayor and City Council," he added.

Gordon was in the Montgomery County Detention Facility Thursday night after
his transfer from the Lowndes County Jail about 4:30 p.m., Vaughner said.

Gordon was facing a $20,000 bond for possession of a controlled substance
and an ethics violation.

Vaughner said he moved Gordon from the Lowndes jail because Gordon knows
employees who work in the facility.

While the police chief's case is pending, Hill said Vaughner's department
will provide police protection for the Mosses area.

"The Lowndes County Sheriff's Department will provide patrols until the
mayor and City Council convene to take further action with regard to public
safety in Mosses," Hill said.

Gordon was in the news Thursday after he responded Wednesday to a traffic
accident.

Although Gordon was outside his jurisdiction, he responded quickly in the
afternoon to help a woman motorist who apparently lost control of her
vehicle and was trapped inside the car when it turned upside down on U.S.
80 in Burkville. Gordon stayed with the woman and tried to comfort her as
he and others waited for medical help to arrive.