Understaffed Miss. Police Force Loses Chief, Majority of Officers as Crime Spikes

Moss Point Police Chief Brandon Ashley is stepping down — and a majority of the officers in the understaffed department are following suit.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter confirmed Tuesday that Ashley had completed the standard interview process and background check for a new job. He is scheduled to start work as a patrol deputy in Jackson County on Oct. 20 after 24 1/2 years serving in the Moss Point Police Department, including more than seven as chief.

Ashley’s exit comes in the aftermath of his five-day suspension without pay for failing to tell officials about the domestic violence arrest of former Moss Point K-9 Officer Craig Chandler. City officials fired Chandler on Aug. 11 after video of an alleged domestic assault involving Chandler came to light.

Since Ashley returned to work, he has declined to comment on the suspension or answer any calls about crime in the city. He could not be reached again this week.

In addition to Ashley, at least three other Moss Point officers — Patrol Supervisor Sgt. Marquis Davis, Patrol Officer Tyrone Baker and Detective Rebecca Rasannen — are also set to join the Sheriff’s Department as patrol deputies next month. The patrol position pays $52,000 to $56,000, a sharp drop from Ashley’s $80,000 salary as police chief.

Longtime Moss Point Police Sgt. Kimberlee Snowden, who oversees criminal investigations and temporarily filled in as acting chief during Ashley’s suspension, is moving to the Pascagoula Police Department, Police Chief Terry Scott confirmed. Snowden has 36 years of law enforcement experience.

Another patrol officer and investigator, Bryanna Williams, is leaving to work in D’Iberville.

Gautier Police Chief David Bever said at least six Moss Point police officers have applied for three open positions in that department. So far, the city has hired Moss Point Police Detective Jamie Chapman, and two more are in the interview process and expected to join the force there.

That’s seven of the 15 sworn police officers on the job in Moss Point, and others are in the process of pursuing otherlaw enforcement jobs on the Mississippi Coast.

The departures come as the city, with just over 11,000 residents, deals with serious crime. So far this week, police are investigating three homicides in two unrelated shootings, bringing the total number of homicides for the year up to six.

That’s double last year’s three homicides, up from two in 2023 and five in 2022.

That doesn’t include the total number of calls for service, with 13,926 calls so far this year, compared to 21,019 calls for service in 2024, according to crime data provided to the Sun Herald. Officer addresses decision to leave

Tyrone Baker, one of the Moss Point officers set to leave, spoke out on his decision, saying he came to the city to do a good job in law enforcement under Ashley’s leadership and anticipated the support of the mayor and city officials.

Instead, he said it seems like the officers have no support from the mayor or otherwise.

“You can’t systematically defund the police department because you don’t like the chief, and I feel like that’s what's going on,” he said. “This guy spent nearly 25 years here through the good and the bad.”

He said the low staffing levels already put the officers on the payroll at great risk, but those officers have strived to protect the city despite that.

“I’ve been shot at in the city,” he said. “I still have a bullet hole in my car. We respond alone to calls that no officer should respond to alone. We should have multiple officers responding to a domestic. We should have multiple officers responding to a shooting. That’s not what happens.

“Look, I knew what I signed up for, but I don’t have to stay here and put myself in dangerous situations like that because no one will listen to us.” Losing confidence in the police chief

The Sun Herald spoke with Moss Point Mayor Billy Knight in a sit-down interview last week regarding the potential loss of the police chief and other officers.

Knight said the city had not received any official word about Ashley’s plan to leave, though he had heard rumors to that effect. He confirmed the same information on Tuesday, but then the city set a special meeting regarding personnel matters involving the police department.

A notice of the meeting was not posted on the city’s Facebook page, where the public notices are routinely posted.

Prior to that meeting, Knight said he had already “lost all confidence” in Ashley’s performance on the job.

As for any other police officers who wanted to follow Ashley out the door, Knight said, “That means they are more loyal to him than they are to the city.”

As the mass exodus of officers grows, Sheriff Ledbetter said he has some concern about policing in the city in the weeks and months ahead because Ashley had always been his point of contact there.

In fact, Ledbetter said he’s been somewhat surprised that no one from the city of Moss Point has contacted him regarding the mass exodus of officers.

“I don’t want to interfere with their personnel matters,” the sheriff said, “but the folks in Moss Point need and deserve the same police protection.”

As for any potential criticism for hiring Ashley and other officers from Moss Point, Sheriff Ledbetter said, “I don’t think there is a basis for criticism.”

“If they want to come work here and they are qualified, we have work available here and we have vacancies,” he said. “We have never been in the practice of just not hiring somebody when they are qualified, just because of other opinions or circumstances. It’s just an arbitrary process.”

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