Suspended officer, accused of excessive force, issued termination letter
MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – A Meridian Police Officer accused of using excessive force during a recent arrest is facing the end of his policing career in the Queen City.
Police Chief Benny Dubose has identified the officer involved in the altercation as Daniel Starks and has confirmed Starks was given a final termination letter.
The chief says Wednesday will be Starks’ last day on the police force.
Starks has ten days to appeal his termination.
Starks is accused of exceeding his use of force during a shoplifting arrest earlier this month. The arrest was captured on police body cam. The chief says the video shows the suspect was “not” resisting arrest when Starks slammed and detained the suspect with a stun gun.
If Starks chooses to appeal, the civil service commission will host a meeting to determine if they will listen to his case.
“He has ten days from the issuance of this particular letter to appeal to the Civil Service Commission, and if he chooses to do so Civil Service will set a hearing date and he will be allowed to present his side of the case and the city will be allowed to present their side of the case,” said Chief Dubose.
The chief expects a swift decision.
“The 5-member Civil Service Board will then issue a decision as to whether the termination is upheld or not,” said Chief Dubose.
Chief Dubose says the department has ‘zero tolerance’ for any use of excessive force. Starks tenure with MPD was short lived. He was sworn in as an officer in 2017.
“The officers observed the actions that were taken by this officer and there wasn’t any lapse in time to think about it. It was immediately reported to the supervisors, and a result we have what we have,” said Chief Dubose.
Chief Dubose says he’ll release the body cam footage to the media in the next several days. Starks has yet to be charged in the incident.
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