The city of Itta Bena is looking for a new police chief, but the mayor and two aldermen won't say why.
The city recently began running ads soliciting resumes for the position. Chief Coy Lee Keys said he did not know of the board's decision until a media representative told him. Keys said he then contacted Mayor Thelma Collins, who referred him to the board.
"It's the board's decision that I really don't wish to discuss," Collins said Tuesday.
Alderwoman Louisa Grantham, Ward 2, would not say why they decided to take applications, but she said they had received about four so far.
Alderman Walter Parker, Ward 3, also would not comment.
Keys has been the police chief for almost three years after being hired on an interim basis. When he was offered the job, the city was short on money and offered to pay him $30,000 instead of a full salary of $34,000. He thought the city would make the position official when more money became available, Keys said.
Instead, now that the city has obtained full funding, officials have chosen to hire someone else, he said.
Keys tried several times to get the city to hire more police officers, he said. He thinks that instead of giving more money to a police chief, the city should hold the money and hire more officers.
Keys said he thinks the board is "trying to hire someone behind my back."
He also questioned Collins' claim that she had nothing to do with the decision.
"It seems like the mayor should have had something to do with it. This is who I've been reporting to," he said.
Otis Abron, Leflore County's District 3 supervisor, served as the Itta Bena police chief from 1995 until he was elected supervisor in 2002. An interim chief, Dewain Ollie, stayed about a year after he left, Abron said.
"I think now they just really want someone to step up and take control of the department," Abron said.
