DECISION ON HPD DRUG UNIT DELAYED

Three Hattiesburg City Council members asked Mayor Johnny DuPree Friday to
stop the Hattiesburg Police Department from forming its own narcotics unit.

The council members called a meeting Friday to find out why members of the
Forrest-Perry County Metro Narcotics Task Force voted Thursday to oust the
Hattiesburg Police Department from its membership in the unit.

"In a nutshell, I would not support anything that would disrupt Metro
Narcotics as I understand it," said Council President Carter Carroll said.
"We support the Metro Narcotics Task Force and we want this resolved. I'd
like for the citizens of Hattiesburg to know that we fully support that.
Until that time, let's put a hold on any narcotics unit for us."

Metro board members argued about money and control of officers at the
Thursday meeting, said Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee.

He said Thursday's vote was taken to get others involved in the disagreement.

"What we did was more ceremonial," he said. "I think this has brought it to
life. I think now is the time for the political entities to surround the
wagons and do something about it."

The task force is comprised of two officers each from Hattiesburg, Forrest
County and one each from Petal and Perry County.

Council members called Hattiesburg Police Chief David Wynn to the Friday
meeting, but he did not appear. Also absent was councilman Henry Naylor,
who was out of town.

DuPree said Wynn had a prior engagement.

McGee explained to the council Friday that Metro rules call for any money
seized in drug cases to be shared. Under the pact, 10 percent goes to the
Forrest-Perry County District Attorney's office for handling paperwork, 45
percent goes to the task force and 45 percent goes to assisting agencies.

McGee said Wynn wanted the Hattiesburg agents to work separately from the
Metro Task Force. He also wanted 80 percent of the money from drug seizures
instead of the 45 percent, which would have been split among the task
force's members.

Carroll asked if Hattiesburg's getting 80 percent of the money would be a
detriment to the entire narcotics effort.

"That was my gut feeling that it would," McGee said. "In fact what it (drug
forfeiture policies) has done is driven a wedge between law enforcement
agencies. What we do is end up drawing a little line and trying to get that
drug offender to come into our boundaries. To me it's going to be a
detriment to law enforcement."

Carroll said he agreed with McGee and thought that problems could arise
between two narcotics units if they competed for seized funds.

Councilwoman Deborah Denard disagreed with Carroll's statements concerning
the Metro ask Force unit and to the meeting.

"I think it's completely inappropriate," she said. "The police chief
answers to the mayor and it's his responsibility that the city of
Hattiesburg is taken care of and I'm confident that as mayor of this city -
he is doing that. In terms of this being the desire of the entire council
that we resolve any matters in this type of forum is not the case as others
are here to say."

Carroll asked DuPree to schedule a meeting between the council members,
City Attorney Charles Lawrence, the mayor and Wynn next week to discuss the
issue.

DuPree said he would schedule a meeting.

"This is just a bump in the road for Metro," DuPree said. "There have been
other bumps in the road and Metro has survived. We're all still talking. We
just need to continue working together."

After the Friday meeting, Councilman Red Bailey said he was confronted by
the Rev. Kenneth Fairley of Mount Carmel Baptist Church outside of the
council's meeting room at City Hall. Fairley attended the meeting.

"He called me a racist and said I was tearing this town apart," Bailey
said. "This whole item as far as the police department and crime is not
racial. It has nothing to do with race. We voted unanimously to bring this
police chief here. We want crime brought under control. It is nothing more
than that. It's just a matter of let's get out crime back under control."

During the council's Monday work session, Carter, Bailey and Councilwoman
Betsy Rowell questioned Wynn's leadership of the police department citing
rising crime statistics and low moral among the officers.

During a telephone interview, Fairley said he accused Bailey of playing the
race card, but that Bailey cursed at him during their conversation.

"It's very evident this is a witch hunt and a grandstanding," Fairley said
about the three white council members, Bailey, Rowell and Carroll. "It's
all a political move to make our mayor look bad. The council seems to be
overstepping its boundaries and getting into day-to-day operations of the
City of Hattiesburg. They unfairly ambushed Chief Wynn the other day (Monday)."

Fairley said Wynn and the mayor are working to correct the problem with the
Metro board.

"I've been preaching the same thing to Red every time we talk," he said.
"They made a decision without calling for a vote because they're very much
aware that they are in the majority."

Wynn could not be reached for comment Friday.