City leaders have approved pay raises for Eupora’s chief of police plus four sergeants and corporals on the local police force.
The Board of Aldermen did so during a recessed meeting the evening of Jan. 18. The action came following a nine-minute executive session for the purpose of police personnel. Police Chief Lawrence Caradine remained in the boardroom during that time.
Ricky Newton (Ward 3) made a motion afterwards in open session, seconded by Junior Shaw (Ward 1), to give these raises in the Police Department: for the police chief to be paid $25 an hour, for two sergeants to be paid $20 an hour and for two corporals to be paid $19 an hour.
The motion was approved 4-0 without further discussion; Billy Tabb (Ward 2) was absent.
The board also considered a Police Department request for authorization to surplus a 2010 Ford F-150 pickup truck and sell to the highest bidder on govdeals.com.
Aldermen discussed the possibility of transferring the truck to the Parks and Recreation Department instead. They tabled the request until the next board meeting, set for 6 p.m. Feb. 5 in the Community Center.
-----------------------------
Minutes Revised
Regarding Caradine
In another matter related to the Police Department, the board voted to revise the Dec. 4 minutes, which had been approved without change on Jan. 2. The minutes were revised from stating “No board action was taken” to include a motion made under executive session after exiting.
That executive session was also held for the purpose of police personnel, with Caradine meeting with aldermen during part of that time.
The minutes as revised now read: “Alderman (Robert) Gibbs (Ward 4) offered a motion to “remove the write-up from Chief Caradine’s personnel file regarding ‘Failure to disclose information about an incident with former police officer Patrick Mitchell, who was placed on leave by the Winona Police Department.’ Alderman Shaw seconded with Aldermen Gibbs, Shaw and Newton voting aye. Alderman Tabb voting nay. Motion passed.”
Jerry Gary, alderman-at-large, was also present but could not vote because he was presiding at that time as acting mayor.
Mitchell was a certified officer with the WPD when the Eupora Board of Aldermen voted to hire him as a part-time police officer. He was hired here following an executive session of the city board on July 25, when aldermen met in executive session with Caradine to discuss police personnel.
Eupora aldermen met in another executive session to discuss police personnel on Sept. 5. Afterwards, the board voted 4-0 to terminate Mitchell’s employment “in which he is still within his probationary period, effective immediately.” Alderman Tabb abstained.
According to broadcast reports and as previously reported by the Progress-Times, Mitchell was on duty with the Winona PD on Aug. 28 when he pulled over the driver of an all-terrain vehicle for speeding. Other news outlets reported that a brief pursuit followed and the man was killed when the ATV crashed. WCBI News, citing information released by the Mississippi Highway Patrol, reported that David Nix’s ATV collided with a Dodge Charger driven by Mitchell, and Nix received fatal injuries.
An Aug. 9 article in The Neshoba Democrat reported that the Philadelphia Board of Aldermen had voted to accept Mitchell’s resignation from that city’s police department.
A January 2019 article in The Enterprise-Toscin reported that Mitchell had been terminated as an officer with the Moorhead Police Department. Additionally, The Greenwood Commonwealth reported in May 2011 that Mitchell and another Durant police officer had been relieved of their duties.
In an update on another former Eupora police officer, a Webster County Justice Court case involving Phillip Miller has again been continued. A full-time officer at the time, he was placed on administrative leave without pay after being charged in June with simple assault/domestic violence. The Board of Aldermen voted not to rehire him with other city employees in July.
Miller’s case was turned over to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and he was most recently scheduled for a hearing in Justice Court on Jan. 18 (court was actually held Jan. 19). However, court official have since said his case has been continued until Feb. 16.
