Itta Bena Mayor Walter Parker emphatically recommended Tuesday that Christopher Austin continue as police chief.
Parker endorsed Austin at a special meeting of the Itta Bena Board of Aldermen.
Austin, currently the interim chief following the retirement of Chief Marvin Flowers, was one of three applicants interviewed during a nearly two-hour closed session of the board Tuesday night. Robert Kirklin and Rogers Simpson also were interviewed.
The board did not take action Tuesday night, but the selection of a chief is on the agenda of its next meeting, which will be at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday in the Brazil Center.
Simpson, a former Itta Bena police chief, was hired in 1998 but removed in 1999 after being arrested and accused of insurance fraud. A mistrial was declared, and charges were dropped in Leflore and Sunflower counties.
He now works in the school system in Indianola.
Kirklin is the police chief in West.
“Since the late 1990s, the City of Itta Bena’s governing authority has made it a common practice to look for and select its police chiefs from outside the city,” Parker said at the meeting. “This has truly set the police department back.”
He said similar practices used in hiring patrol officers also have been detrimental to Itta Bena.
“These practices have resulted in the investment and training of personnel who usually do not have vested interest in the city or community,” he said. “After being certified and trained, these people often leave Itta Bena and return to their communities and other places to use the knowledge and skills the citizens of Itta Bena had paid for.”
That statement drew applause from the 20 to 30 people present.
Parker said Austin’s qualifications, experience, certification, education and history as a citizen of the town make him the best candidate.
“This man is a product of Itta Bena,” Parker said. “To deny him the chance says that citizens of Itta Bena are good enough to live in the city but not good enough to work here.”
Austin, who has combined experience of 10 years with the Itta Bena police, remained modest even after receiving the mayor’s support.
“I’m happy about what the mayor said, and no matter what happens, I won’t have any hard feelings about the board’s decision,” he said. “It felt good to see that a lot of the citizens came out to support me tonight.”
Austin said he believes the residents would like to see a local candidate chosen.
“I think that I can back the trust between the people of Itta Bena and the police,” he said.
Austin’s father, Ivory Payne, said a majority of the citizens of Itta Bena are supporting Austin because he was born and raised there.
“It’s time for a change,” Payne said. “There have been too many chiefs that came in and out of that position. I feel he deserves a chance to be the next chief, because I know he can do great things for Itta Bena.”
Flowers, who lives in Indianola, was hired as chief in April of 2008. His last day was Jan. 31.
