Officer shortage in Shannon raises concern in the community
Some Shannon residents are calling for the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to take action
SHANNON, MISS. (WCBI) – During the day, on both Saturday and Sunday, the town of Shannon had no police officers on duty. This was confirmed by several sources, who wish to remain anonymous. Any calls for service were handled by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
“Not sure why I pay taxes,” said Tim Tubb, who started a Facebook Page called “A Better Shannon” shortly after he was defeated in a close race by incumbent mayor Paul Lyles.
Tubb said his goal with “A Better Shannon” is to promote transparency in local government.
“One of the things I campaigned on was having a livestream of a town hall meeting, getting debit card machines. Transparency is a big deal because not everyone can make it to a town meeting, and everybody pays taxes, has a right to know what is going on,” Tubb said.
Each meeting of the Board of Aldermen is broadcast live on the “A Better Shannon” Facebook Page. At the most recent meeting, Interim Police Chief Beverly Gann had a list of six potential officers needed to fill vacant spots in the PD. Currently, the town has only three full-time officers, including the chief. There are four shifts at the Shannon Police; each shift should have a minimum of two officers.
One Shannon resident, who didn’t want to appear on camera, said he is shocked at the lack of officers on the street.
“That ain’t good, that ain’t good, they need more protection around here, they need a whole lot more protection,” said Greg, a concerned resident of Shannon.
In our report earlier this summer, we were told about needed repairs on police vehicles. Our sources tell us the city has only one dependable police unit, and repairs still haven’t been approved by the board of aldermen or the mayor.
“They make some requests of officers that are unreasonable, trying to get officers to work for comp time, give them a limited amount of time to use the comp time,” Tubb said.
We reached out to Mayor Paul Lyles. He didn’t comment on the staffing issue, but did tell us that Shannon is safe. In the meantime, the search continues for a police chief.
