Former Shannon Chief speaks out about issues/hurdles he faced

Rogers says it was tough to get approval from city leaders to take care of basic needs and upkeep for basic equipment

SHANNON, MISS. (WCBI) – There are four patrol cars in the parking lot of the Shannon Police Department, but only one runs.

“If you don’t keep them up, they will go down,” said former Police Chief Anthony Rogers.

Another unit has been at a local garage for months.

“When you get something repaired, over a certain amount of money, you have to have three estimates, I did that when they started having problems. Later on, it came upon the mayor, and he was going the take the car and have it checked out,” Rogers said.

Anthony Rogers just retired as Shannon Police Chief and says it has been a challenge getting funds approved, not only for vehicle repairs, but also to hire qualified officers. Rogers said the incoming chief will be faced with two major needs.

“Better pay,  the ability to get vehicles and stuff they need to do the job, they are hired to do here. It is hard to patrol if you don’t know your vehicle will make it through the whole shift or not,” Rogers said.

Pastor Charles Moore is president of the Lee County Chapter of the NAACP. He said he has tried repeatedly to get city leaders to address the issues raised by the now former chief.

“The problem is, the administration, what are their main goals, is it to make the community better or to make themselves better off the community?” Moore said.

We reached out to Mayor Paul Lyles. He declined to comment on the story. In the meantime, Rogers said he has offered to stay on and help out until after Tuesday’s election, to see which direction the board wants to go.

There are now two full time officers, two part time officers and a reserve officer in the town of Shannon.