Between the Headlines: Columbus
Between the Headlines dives deep into the stories shaping Columbus and Lowndes County, Mississippi. Hosted by The Commercial Dispatch managing editor Zack Plair and local businessman and commentator David Chism, this show goes beyond the front page to bring you the real conversations behind local politics, policies and people. Zack’s journalistic expertise and David’s insight deliver in-depth analysis, spirited debate, and behind-the-scenes context you won’t get anywhere else. It's honest discussion on what matters.
Between the Headlines: Columbus
Chief Daughtry on Youth Violence and the Woody's Waiting Game
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A $100,000 offer, a building that’s been closed for 17 years, and a buyer who suddenly goes quiet. We start with the latest snag in the Woody’s on the Water saga and ask the uncomfortable questions. We also talk about the tradeoff nobody wants to ignore, because development on the lake can bring jobs and activity, but it can also change wetlands and shoreline land for good.
Then Columbus Police Chief Joseph Daughtery joins us in studio to explain what he’s seeing on the streets, why youth conflicts are escalating, and how social media turns petty disputes into real violence. He gets specific about how guns end up in the wrong hands, including thefts from unlocked cars, firearms left in plain view, and straw purchases that federal partners are increasingly tracking.
Cold Open And Studio Setup
SPEAKER_02I don't know what he has come up with today to talk about. I'm not asking you to hide anything. Yeah. No, put it out there. Let the people see it.
SPEAKER_03I've never not worked in a hospital working environment.
SPEAKER_02You can't argue with anybody when they're putting facts in your face.
SPEAKER_01Zach, that's a hard question. I have no answer for it. From the opinion page of the Commercial Dispatch. This is between the headlines.
SPEAKER_05Thank you for joining us again in the studio. Today we will have Chief Joseph Daughtery to talk about the City of Columbus crime and things related there too. Woody's on the water or Woody's on the delay. It might be a while before they're able to close that deal. We've got details on that. Also, golf carts coming to a street near you. The city has passed an ordinance to allow those to be driven around, as is the case in certain other towns across the state. But first, retirement looks different for everyone, so your plan should be built around you. For over 40 years, Financial Concepts has helped people create retirement strategies that fit their lives. Our team in Columbus takes the time to understand your goals and build a plan that works for you. Wherever you are in your journey, we're ready to help. We plan retirement. Financial Concepts is a registered investment advisor. This episode of Between the Headlines is brought to you by Bank First, a bank headquartered right here in Columbus, Mississippi. That means your banking decisions aren't made hundreds of miles away by someone who doesn't know you. They're made here locally by bankers who know your name and care about the community. At Bank First, we're more than bankers. We're your neighbors. Whether we're cheering in the stands, catching up at a local pancake breakfast, or celebrating milestones across our community, we're part of the moments that matter most. Stop by your local Bank First branch or visit BankFirstFS.com to learn more. Bank First is a member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender, Bank NMLS 454063.
Golf Carts On Columbus Streets
SPEAKER_05You are listening to Between the Headlines here in Catfish Alley Studio, historic downtown Columbus. A good day as always. And um Zach, do you have a golf cart?
SPEAKER_03I do not have a golf cart.
SPEAKER_05Well, as I hear it, if you have a golf cart, there are certain things you can do to that vehicle to make it street legal, not in Starkville, but here in Columbus. What do we know about that?
SPEAKER_03Well, you can do it in Starkville. Uh Starkville has an ordinance on the books, but yeah, but now you can do it here.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But not yet. Not yet. Uh they're considering an ordinance that would allow for um if you have a golf cart that is registered, um, you can, and it's street legal, it's registered. You can drive it on roadways where the speed limit um is 35 miles per hour or less. So that would, you know, that would be a lot of your residential streets and and some of that. So not your highways, not your major thoroughfares. You're not gonna have to you're not gonna have to go around a golf cart on Highway 45, uh allegedly. But um if the ordinance passes, which it hasn't yet, they're still talking about it.
SPEAKER_05NUW has them already, you know. Yeah. You you'll see them out there. In fact, they did have one for law enforcement use at one point. Yep. Yeah. So if you get the golf cart, you have to have like lights and turn signals and seat belts and yeah. I didn't read seat belts. Do you have to have a seat belt?
SPEAKER_03Well, you gotta have everything that would make a vehicle street legal by federal law.
SPEAKER_05A motorcycle doesn't need a seatbelt. Wow. You gotta wear a helmet. Yeah. That's not gonna happen. I mean, you're not gonna see me on a golf cart anyway, probably, but you're definitely not gonna see me in a golf cart with a helmet on.
SPEAKER_03I I'm interested to see because you know, the park view development uh was one of the things that was kind of uh seen as the oh, we've got all this development coming in Columbus. We're gonna have all of this uh, you know, the all of this essentially walkability and bike ability and all of this stuff and this golf carts will come in handy better than cars, et cetera, et cetera. And I'm just interested to see if there's just gonna be lines of golf carts going from Burns Bottom around the soccer complex to Munson's to Harvey.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, there might be through Southside. People do that in the county in certain areas. August landing down south of New Home. Everybody in that neighborhood has a golf cart. It's the way to go, man.
SPEAKER_03Well, you don't have to pay you don't have to pay 409 or 399 or 389 for gas for your golf cart, I don't suppose.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. You have to have liability insurance. To be determined, I guess.
Woody’s Deal Hits Red Tape
SPEAKER_05Well, the the big topic that's come across the paper today is a snag with Woody's on the water. We had Mr. DJ Mantooth to offer $100,000, and that was approved, and it looked like it was going to happen. But the Army Corps of Engineers had something to say, or was it something that getting it didn't get turned in?
SPEAKER_03We uh exactly what has happened or what he hasn't turned in from uh to hear uh to hear Jeff Turnage tell it, and that's the city attorney, and he's just on one side of this. Um Army Corps of Engineers has not only have they not uh approved, and you know, they own the land and they have to approve uh any sort of use of it. Uh they have to approve those plans for usage, and that was part of the deal. Um that was part of the deal, by the way, that that killed the last prospective buyer's uh offer. Um that red tape just got to be too much, and he and and that got pulled out. So here we go with DJ, and he knows that's coming. He makes that offer. He's gonna have that high-end steakhouse in this uh in this building that's been closed for 17 years. He had the vision from the Lord on the lake, all of those things. Do you remember all that?
SPEAKER_05Oh, yeah. Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_03And and and um the restaurant was gonna be everything to everybody. Uh, when he came on the podcast, it was gonna be a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But you know, the plans have to be something to the Army Corps of Engineers, and to hear Jeff Durnish tell it, he's not even sure the Army Corps of Engineers has any plans from this guy. So one wonders. One wonders.
SPEAKER_05Well, one does. I would think that um uh I think he would start with, hey, we're gonna have a restaurant here and it's gonna be nice and it's gonna be fixed up and cleaned and repainted and it's gonna be open to the public. Okay, just start with that and then talk about boat docks and and fireworks or whatever else was on his mind, talk about that later.
SPEAKER_03Well, and I think the the the floating dock or or or boat slip or or whatever it was is is part of what he's got to get to the Army Corps of Engineers and maybe hasn't or they haven't approved it in any case.
SPEAKER_05Um but piecemeal it is what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_03Well, I bet and I understand your point. I understand your point, and maybe you maybe that was a possibility, maybe it wasn't. I I don't know. What I'm concerned about is this. When he made the offer, there was much fanfare, he was uh everybody was talking about him, he was talking about it, he was very open with the media and the public, and he was very accessible and available. He came on here to the podcast and he waxed poetically about what all this was going to be. A couple weeks ago I sent him a text, hey, how man, how's that going uh with the closing? Have y'all closed yet? Nothing. After the closing got delayed, after the city council said, okay, we're gonna move the closing from May 26th to July the 7th to give this guy more time to get his act together, text, call, leave a message. Nothing. That makes me worried. Silence. And that is what that's what gets me, because there was no silence at the beginning of this. And and I I like the guy, and I'm still rooting for him. And and you know, Jeff says he's still confident that it's gonna come together.
SPEAKER_05But you're worried something may have changed.
SPEAKER_03Something may have changed, or or or something has happened where he doesn't want to talk about this anymore. And that's concerning. So I'm not attacking the guy's character. No, no. Please understand I'm not attacking what's the character.
SPEAKER_05A banker may have said something or uh Well, I'm not gonna speculate on that.
SPEAKER_03All I'm gonna say is something happened to make this very talkative individual, this very confident individual, this very open to sharing his vision individual, not answer phone calls or text. And if I were the city, I would be concerned about that.
SPEAKER_05Maybe he's talking to them, but they didn't seem to know that she can't talk about it. Maybe.
SPEAKER_03Maybe. So so there's a there's a balance here. There's a cost benefit, there's the to moving the closing, there's the uh the the real value to the tax base of getting this thing going. And given a little grace and extending that uh closing date once, uh, I can see where they would make the decision uh based on what could happen at the end, but it shouldn't be in perpetuity. They got $1,000 of earnest money from this guy. The the guy who offered $100,000 has paid one a thousand dollars. A thousand dollars of earnest money, and that's confirmed. Um I do believe that I believe two things. One, um, it would have been more than fair for them to contact him and say, hey, if um if you want us to extend this uh closing date even this time, you're gonna need to give us five thousand more dollars of earnest money or ten thousand dollars of earnest money. You're gonna bump it up to five or ten uh something to let us know that you're still playing and we're you're that you're still playing ball and you're not just playing around with us.
SPEAKER_05Because the longer they dilly dally, the the more this is not on the market.
SPEAKER_03Right. And I think that the next thing is if I was the city, July 7th is do or die. There is no more there are no more extensions. You either you either have it together or you don't, and we're moving on and dropping the contract.
SPEAKER_05I think a thousand dollars, I mean, a down payment on a single wire trailer is gonna be more than that. I mean, that's so interesting stuff here. Um hopefully the uh good things are worth waiting for and and we'll see something.
SPEAKER_03Well, let me turn that back to you, David. What do you think? Do you think that they ought to you think they ought to extend it another time, or do you think they ought to ask for more earnest money now? Do you think where they should have, because they didn't. Um or do you think that they should have told him May 26th or bust?
SPEAKER_05Depends on the reason. If you've got um somebody from the United States Army Corps of Engineer holding up the deal for this, that, or the other, and you have something in documentation uh related there too, then yeah, I think an extension is perfectly in order. If if they got nothing.
SPEAKER_03If they've got nothing.
SPEAKER_05If you've got nothing, then yeah, it's it's time to crap or get off the pot.
SPEAKER_03Fair enough. I can't disagree with that.
SPEAKER_05But I want to talk about one thing from the other side of it.
Wetlands Protection Versus Development
SPEAKER_05The Army Corps of Engineers um has their say over some of the most beautiful water and land that you will see anywhere around. Right. And as much as I want a restaurant to be out there, you know, I was driving on the way here thinking, how much do I really want to see that developed? Because with development becomes lights and a lot of people and trash. And I just don't want to see the wetlands spoiled because of too much stuff coming up out there. And so I think um I may not sound very Republican when I say this, but I think red tape is in order when it comes to certain areas.
SPEAKER_03I agree, I agree, and I think that you know the Army Corps of Engineers, if they're gonna allow it to be developed at all, and they set parameters for that development. I think one, that's that's the right of the Army Corps of Engineers, it's their purview. So set the parameters and you know, either meet them or don't. You you you know how I am about core code enforcement. I'm an absolutist. I I feel the same way about this too. They've got the rules, meet the rules. If you're gonna offer $100,000, understand that what comes with that is the necessity to follow the rules and to follow the rules and timelines that maybe aren't set by you. And and and I I again I do want to see that. I want to go out there and eat at that restaurant. I really do. I um once I know that a lot of people in Columbus get really, really excited about, oh, you know, Woody's on the water. It's really gonna happen this time. But here, here we go now, we've got a possibility of going 0 for 2 on would-be deals. When does that become the new quagmire in Columbus where the city's got this property that they can't do anything with and they can't move it, and they can't get it to be the thing that they say that they want it to be or that it has been before? And when does it become when does it become cursed ground? Is it after this, or do we need another deal to fall through? Or does somebody like does somebody who knows the score and is willing to play the game need to come in here and and and go for it?
SPEAKER_05Yeah. The uh old phrase crap or get off the pot comes to mind.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_05You can't leave that building just sitting there in disrepair. Right. Because the longer it sits there, the worse it gets. And it costs a lot of money to tear it down if that's what we end up needing to do eventually. And I think that would be a sad day.
Police Chief Joins The Studio
SPEAKER_05At this time we are pleased to have in the studio Mr. Joseph Daughtery who is the chief of police of the City of Columbus, and I will tell you it is a good day. Anytime we can have the chief of police on to talk to the media, this town or any town, because not all police chiefs do that. So when I thank you for coming in today, I say that in sincerity.
SPEAKER_02I appreciate it. I appreciate it. A lot of times we you know, a lot of schedules are are you just don't know how often we're being pulled in many different directions. You know, uh a lot often police departments try to stay in its lane, but it's like even though we stay in our lane, the whole highway is ours. So we we kind of gotta drift off back and forth.
SPEAKER_03Well, I want to just jump in right here. We've had um um I think three um just in the last eight or nine days.
SPEAKER_02Uh no, it's been uh since January. We've had three.
SPEAKER_03Well, I mean, I'm talking about uh uh the the three shootings uh since the weekend before this past weekend, uh where you know several people have been injured. They've been bystanding, I think four bystanders on on the whole have been injured. Um these uh groups of folks, as you say, are are are going around shooting at each other and hitting other people. Um I know that you're taking a lot of questions about that. I know the department has taken a lot of social media flack about it. Um I wanted just kind of open the floor to you a little bit. What is going on and and what should people be concerned about?
Why Youth Conflicts Turn Violent
SPEAKER_02Well, right now we have a trend and uh and it's not just a Columbus thing, it's it's across the country. You see it every day where young people are starting to handle conflict with violence. Uh the days I I'm old school, you know, and we used to fight at school. By lunchtime, we were back on the monkey bars playing. You know, it's not like that anymore. A lot of these young people can't take the criticism that uh others are putting on social media talking about them. So the young people have a saying that says on site. So it's on site is when I see you and wherever it is, you know, it's going down. You know, we're gonna fight or whatever. And it and it's really getting disturbing because these young people are getting weapons and they're carrying weapons that our SWAT team uses.
SPEAKER_03Well, how are they getting them?
SPEAKER_02I can't answer that. Uh I I really don't know. Some of them are underage, uh, but some of them they can purchase at the age of 18. You know, throughout through our state and federal laws, they can purchase some of them. They can't purchase a handgun under the age of 21, but uh some of them are being stolen. Uh, you know, you and I have talked about the autoburgers we used to have, a lot of them, and and a lot of cars were broken into, but I remember one time we we had a situation where we had like 20 something cars broken into in a week period, and out of the 20, all 20 of them were left unlocked. Right. You know, and then the next week we had two that were broken into, and they were broken into at the hotel, but they had pistols on the front seat or stuck in between the seat and plain visibility, and they bust the window to get those out. So that's why we used to tell people take your valuables and don't leave a pistol in the car. But a lot of these young people are getting guns from different places. Uh there's a thing that they call straw purchase. Uh I've met with the uh SAC, the special agent in charge of the ATF, and we have young ladies who are of age buying guns from for their younger brother, their younger boyfriend, and that's something that's going across the country that they're seeing. And the FBI and I, I'm not FBI, ATF, we've talked about it, and they're starting to track a lot of those. So if you got um uh uh a young lady has purchased, say, five guns in the last two, three months, red flags go up. So then the ATF is gonna start sending some information so we can start trying to look into it. Because everything you purchase, when you purchase a weapon, has to go through the ATF.
SPEAKER_03Well, uh in a lot of these cases, I know uh you guys are still looking for uh suspects in this most recent shooting where the the toddler and the mother were uh were hurt. Um What has been the challenge of finding these people and getting them behind bars?
Guns, Car Break-Ins, Straw Purchases
SPEAKER_02The challenge is so many people have a mindset it's not my business. But it is. But it is.
SPEAKER_03Well, but but I mean, how many NOLA cameras are out there?
SPEAKER_02We well, in the city we have probably over 30 and plus plus our Meraki cameras, we have some out there. Uh and what we're trying to do at this particular moment is to build a grid so that no matter where you go in the city, right? You will have to pass one of these cameras.
SPEAKER_03Because that was my question. If you I know that y'all had going on 30 cameras anyway, and what is the likelihood? I mean, I know the city is not a small city, but it's not a it's not Dallas either. So I mean, how are these guys missing all the cameras?
SPEAKER_02You know, they're not, but what happened is we go back and look through so many hours of footage, just trying to get a lead, you know, trying to see, and then we're blind. We don't know if we're looking for if someone would say, you know, I saw a black car, it was driving real fast, that'll give us something to start for, start looking for a black vehicle, you know, trying to see if we can get that. But we're not getting that. Um we do have some people that have come forth and told us some very valuable information and we're following it up on it. Um, but some people are scared. Some people are scared to say, uh, I saw him shoot the gun, I saw him run this way, I saw him for fear of retaliation, you know, and and I understand that. And that's one thing that we try to tell. I I'm I'm really proud of our detectives. They've gotten out there in the community and they have developed relationships with people in the community that they're getting these phone calls, you know, even after hours. You know, we're getting people uh that want to talk to them but they don't want their name. And I understand that, and I can respect that. But and well, one thing we want the community to know, every, even the least little bit of information can lead to a major breakthrough. You know, if you see a car and you give us a description and it has let's go as simple as a missing hubcap. You're looking for a black car, I think it was a Nissan or Toyota had a black a missing hubcap. If we start looking through video and start seeing it there so often that we can pop up on it. Um one of the shootings that we did have, we made some arrests because of what the citizens told us. They saw this vehicle make the block several times, and we saw that video. uh that vehicle vehicle rather on camera parked and we saw some individuals get out and fit the description of our shooters. So we were able to make an arrest. We had another situation not too far from Sim Scott where a shooting took place and individuals were right underneath the camera, you know, and when they turned we were able to get good facial recognition. Our detectives were able to say, that's so and so I know who that is. I know who he is and we're able to make arrest. So the cameras are helping and they are working. We are currently working with businesses along with our housing authority and also churches are we've met with several different church bodies who are interested in putting cameras up because at night when they leave they want uh their parishioners to feel safe when they're leaving Bible study. You know if you have choir rehearsal if you have a mission meeting when they're leaving they want them to feel safe and a lot of people like that red and blue light flashing camera. You know I my goal in the next two years is to have
Cameras, Tips, And Solving Shootings
SPEAKER_02a full-time real-time crime center where somebody's actually monitoring those cameras. And people might say well if you want to pay somebody to monitor cameras yes because what happens is once we're able to get this grid up around the city and we have somebody monitoring the cameras and we they're also going to have to be trained as a dispatcher and I'm going to tell you why they need to be trained as a dispatcher. If we get a 911 call 123 Mickey Mouse Lane got a group of individuals with guns that person can pull that camera up zoom in and start watching as the officers are en route to that location if they see him or her or whoever get into a red jeep and they're driving off now that person can pick up the radio, key up and say units respond and they're getting in a red jeep going down Donald Duck Lane. You know so now we know which way they're going and they're giving us play by play because they're following it. Right. And that's how the real time center will be able to help us out. A lot of cities have 24 hour coverage for real-time crime centers. I'm thankful uh that we do have the cameras that we do have uh because it has helped us solve many, many cases so far.
SPEAKER_05And it's safer than chasing
Pursuits And The No-Win Scrutiny
SPEAKER_05them.
SPEAKER_02It is it is um but sometimes we have to chase you know um I know a lot of people don't really feel um people with police pursuits has always been a a real iffy subject but the problem is when somebody steals somebody's car and we get behind them and we just let it go, first thing you're gonna say well they stole my car. Why didn't you do something? You know but then a lot of time when people are running what are they running for? You know what did they do? We have supervisor we go over our pursuit policy quite often in roll call training to make sure that the officers understand and the way our policy is written if we have a sergeant in a pursuit a couple of corporals but you got a rookie patrolman who feels unsafe or feels that hey this is getting out of hand that rookie patrolman can call it off. And when he calls it off, it's over. You know, so that's our way of checks and balances because they might see something because somebody might get tunnel vision and not really pay attention to what they see. And it also depends on the time of day.
SPEAKER_05Trevor Burrus What if that rookie patrol officer gets a little overzealous and and decides to boy just just gun it and you know have something unfortunate like happened about a year ago.
SPEAKER_02Well I mean you know those things are gonna happen. I can't prevent them but we have supervisors in place that will uh address that. You know if we're getting into a pursuit close by a school you know they'll call it you know if if it's kids in the area, you know, we'll call it you know and and and just end the pursuit. In this job we kind of it's a two-edged sword.
SPEAKER_05Yeah sometimes there's just not a good answer.
SPEAKER_02Yeah if we if we don't do something we're scrutinized. But when we do do something we're scrutinized.
SPEAKER_03So I mean it's like you know Well I mean that's just the nature of being the in policing.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely absolutely everybody loves firemen because when the firemen come you know they come with a save but when we come you know we come to enforce and and and we are looked upon as every time they see the police is either some type of enforcement action. That's why we try to keep that good community involvement. That's why you see us out at all the community events.
SPEAKER_03Well let me ask you this the um the stuff that's going on especially with the young people uh and I know a lot of police departments don't like this word schools don't like this word but I'm gonna ask the question I mean are there gangs
Gang Wannabes And Ongoing Investigations
SPEAKER_03in Columbus? Is this organized on any on on even the loosest level?
SPEAKER_02I can say this um I've I have developed a relationship with uh through my connections in the city with some of the what would you call OGs, you know, the old heads that's been around and a lot of these young people that are hanging around are I wouldn't call them organized gangs. You have um different people in different neighborhoods that are trying to be a gang. They're not even following the rules that the original gangs followed by you know you didn't hurt children you know you didn't hurt women you know they had certain rules uh these young people the and then the word of this game uh really just I just just like I having a brain for it like you did a video gang wannabe somehow pretty much that's what they are they want to be and we have to come up with a way to uh address it uh and I don't have the answer for that well I mean is that not more dangerous or or or like they are a little more like catching the wind in that way because you don't have a you don't have a hard target. Well we we have a target because we know who they most of them are. We've identified them. We're we're just it's almost like putting a puzzle together and and that's what we're doing without getting too far into it because I don't want to hinder our investigation but I want you to do know that we are working and we're working with our federal partners and we're putting pieces of the puzzle together so that when we get this puzzle completely together we'll be able to do what we need to do. It's taking a little time because one, we don't have that person that's stepping up saying I saw him do this or you know and in 2026 it's hard for somebody to step up like that.
SPEAKER_05Trevor Burrus Well I like what you said in the paper last week. You said I'm tired of dealing with these people and when I read that I thought you were talking about the perpetrators but no you were talking about the parents and those who were impeding the investigations.
Parents, Fear, Money, And Accountability
SPEAKER_02You know as a father I love my children okay I love my children. Watching my children grow up as and being a parent is one of the greatest gifts that I feel that God can give you to this day. But you can't say what your children are not gonna do when you're not around okay my kids were sneaky you know they did little things you know don't don't uh don't eat all the candy come back the candy gone only three of y'all in the house somebody ate the candy I don't know who ate it you know kids do stuff like that we get there but if you know your children are dealing with a crowd that has guns uh if your son is borrowing your car and your car comes back and it smells like weed you know marijuana to me a red flag should go up you know a red flag would come up and ask hey what's going on you know why are you doing this uh but let but let's look at let's tackle this the hard thing one is some of these parents are scared of these children okay um but one of the main factors is a lot of these parents these kids are taking care of them some of these kids are doing some activities and they're giving their mom a thousand dollars a week two thousand dollars a week you know so mom's not gonna cut off it's good work if you can get it yeah but they're not working because you know street money yeah street money you know so but what happens is and and when I say I'm not playing with him I I I'm very sympathetic. But do you know how many parents uh since I've been chief have called and said Chief I saw my son on the news I'm bringing him you know because I don't want nothing to happen to my child would you promise me that nothing's gonna happen to him if I bring him yes I'll meet you at the PD we get there and they walk him right in the front door. Those are the parents I respect the ones that when we go to the house you say that no they don't they don't have my car no they don't use my car and we got video footage that they were in your car and you say you don't know where your child is and when we get a search warrant the child is in the house hiding under the bed those are the parents I got a problem with you know because at the end of the day you know your child is in activity that he or she shouldn't be into so why are you covering for them? Let's try to get them some help. But there's an African proverb that has stuck with me and um when I talk to young people I use it often African proverb that says that a child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel it's warm. Some of these kids are doing some of this activity because they have no leadership they have no guidance and and and there's one word that they're really looking for and that's why they join gangs. That's why they join all these other organizations. They're looking for love. They want somebody to love them. When we go to the schools and and we deal with a lot of these kids in the schools and talk with them you can I watch the um cafeteria staff at the school because I learned when I was a school resource officer a lot of these kids the only meal they get is at school okay then when you watch these kids sometimes we go in the mornings and when they're getting off the bus give them the high fire like when they were doing testing trying to motivate them to take their test some of these kids would get out and run and hug certain teachers that's the only time they get hugs you know and and and that's really disturbing you know with a lot of these kids that's why a lot of these kids are looking for love in all the wrong places. They're they're turning to their so-called buddies who they think are hardcore but we have real conversations with them.
SPEAKER_03Well and I mean there's safety in that too if you if you find your love by somebody that you feel like kind of a bad dude Mike can protect you I mean there's a there's a real incentive to that if if you don't have any other way. But if you don't feel like you have any other way.
SPEAKER_02But you got some parents who will that will turn over the city of Columbus for their child you know and and I think a child needs to feel love first and foremost at home. Everything starts at home. If you look at people say well the police department needs to do this and the the school ain't doing this we got active school activities I have to give a shout out to our uh Parks and rec department Mr. Greg Lewis they have activities all year long for our children to do the problem is not that they don't have enough but getting parents just to bring the kids to participate and then some parents don't have the $25 $5 for the program you know and and you say well a parent can get $25 but there are some people that are actually struggling that just don't have it you know and we we gotta do we got to find a way to include these kids because we learn economic development comes to a city there are three things at one time it was two things that they look for they look for crime stats and they look for school ratings. The third thing that I I learned when I went to uh my last Noble conference was that they're looking into is an active park and rec department things for kids to do to keep them occupied. We have that there. So that's something that we need to work on a little bit
Staffing Shortages And Pay Competition
SPEAKER_02more.
SPEAKER_03In the last year or two um roughly y'all been anywhere from five seven to fifteen sometimes officers short of the budget. What are the real consequences of enforcement integrity being that short all of the time? And and how much would a full staff be um tackling this issue more effectively?
SPEAKER_02Well first and foremost um you got to deal with people being tired because you have officers that work overtime and uh we have a lot of events here you know Main Street Festival our different festival Southside festival which requires manpower different parades that we have requires manpower but then we have different other events throughout the year that people have on weekends that require manpower. So we have to make sure that everybody's safe at those events. So a lot of times these guys get tired but what happens is you're not you're being reactive instead of proactive but when I came here I tried to change the brand and change the mindset of the men and women of the Columbus Police Department we need to be more proactive you know making the traffic stops letting people see that you're out there when you do that and and and be fair and consistent with it because when you do that you gain the respect of your community but then they got to see you in a way that not just enforcement just pulling people over riding tickets they got to see you at the ballpark when the kids are playing I don't have a problem with officers get out and shoot basketball with the kids. I encourage that you know I get out there and play one we've been in the YMCA now we had a team and we played against some kids those kids wore us out. I mean they were running they were running and gunning I went down and back about two or three times I then I became the coach because they I couldn't keep I couldn't keep up with them you know y'all changed the half court no we should they stayed but I the old man came out I let the young men go out there but when we but those same kids will see me in Walmart and say Mama that's the chief we played him in basketball that's the relationship you want in the community but we have got to it and I just had this conversation on the phone last night with some other chiefs in the area it's hard because of salaries. You know when you got uh we're starting off at 43000 okay DeSoto County um South Haven Olive Branch any of them up there they start off at 60 officers are making $100,000 a year up there easy. Well you need to cover up your microphone when you say that in case where did you say that was they they they know it then if you go down south to Gulfport and area those guys are making good money you know um Madison police department is starting off at like $68,000 and right now there is nothing to keep officers or firefighters. Me and Chief Yarbough had this conversation you know when this new plant opens up and people can go make $20,000 more to provide for their family they're gonna do it. When you're a police officer and you're making $40,000 a year but then you can go somewhere else and make $50 or $60, they're gonna do it. We have people leave and went to become troopers in other states because they offered incentive package. They offered a $10,000 sign and bonus plus almost $15 to $20,000 more a year. You know but I'm gonna say this I've been here almost four years now and and the mayor and council have been real adamant about making sure that city employees got raises every year. So we have been getting those steady increases but right we're just behind the A ball and we just got to find a way to get the money. I mean they have been doing a phenomenal job with getting us the equipment that we need. As you know we have a fleet we have computers in the cars. We're working on getting more computers in the cars. We have radars in the vehicles we have the best equipment available we just got to find a way to retain officers.
SPEAKER_03All right well let's make that tangible if you have a full slate of officers this past week weekend you're fully staffed full roster how much more likely is it right now that the people who shot that toddler in Lowndes County Adult Detention Center?
SPEAKER_02It's hard to say and the reason why I say that is because we can't be everywhere you know a lot of people they they based on what they see on TV you know they see a lot of crimes happen and it's solved between between the time the show started and the show for you it's done. But I can tell you this having a a strong presence having more officers there's a good possibility a lot of things could have happened different. You know uh I applaud because our response time to the shooting was a minute and like forty something seconds the officer was there. So he wasn't too far I don't know if it's he or she they weren't too far away. They got there within a minute and under two minutes they were there on scene uh and a a minute uh trying to figure out what was going on. By that time uh the mother and the child had already left going to the hospital. So our response time is really good. We will be able to do a little more proactive I I am moving some things around my command staff, my executive command staff we met uh we talked about some things we're gonna pull some people uh because we are in the process of hiring we have soon to be five uncertified officers going to the academy and we have three certified officers going through the process and uh yesterday just yesterday we talked to two additional uh certified officers that are interested in transferring over to the Columbus Police Department uh we got one coming from Chicago who wants to come down and be closer to family. Uh he moved away but we have one that's in Alabama who has um family ties uh his son I think lives I think a county or two over and he wants to be just a little closer to his son and and that's what he wanted to come over this way for. So uh we are actively recruiting um and like I said we're doing the best that we can uh I have to thank the community for their support because they have been giving us information. Uh they do call us but I just know that there's others out there that seem just a little bit more that just for some reason won't tell us and I I I can't figure that out.
SPEAKER_03Is there anything you want to add?
SPEAKER_02I my hats off to the men and women of the Columbus Police Department. They've done a phenomenal job. I know that there are people out there on social media who like to attack the police department and that's fine. I call them keyboard gangsters you know I mean they they're easily to criticize but I don't think they know what it takes to put this uniform on every day and leave home. And just like we're sitting in here right now, you get a call of shots fired and all of us get up from here and we run into the car to get to that call. Don't know what we're going to we don't know what we're finna see. We don't know if when we get there the suspect's still there we don't know if they're gonna shoot at us. We don't know it's easy for you to say what you think the police should be doing but until you sit in that seat and have to answer those calls I don't think they have a good understanding. That's why we encourage people to come to our Citizens Police Academy.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02When we put people in the Citizens Police Academy you ought to see I would love for you to interview some of them that went through it and you would be surprised how their mind has changed I went through the one in Starbucks about 10 years ago. About police and how it works. It's like wow I didn't understand that you know um we are working hard when children get injured it bothers me. Okay? I can't stop if you two had a beef with each other there's nothing I can do to stop you guys.
SPEAKER_03We wouldn't handle it the old fashioned break out of you just beat them up he would take me fishing and knock me out of the boat.
SPEAKER_02But that wouldn't do just push you in the water but you know they're not doing that anymore but when kids get hurt I got officers that were really upset when they when they saw that baby. You know I mean they and this is something psychological I know a couple of them went home and hugged their own children because this baby was in his mother's arms in the house. You know it wasn't like this child was out in the street two people just and ran out into the middle of it. Yeah yeah yeah and this child was where he was supposed to be you know that's why I said and I got a little emotional about it because we're gonna fight for those who can't fight for themselves and I consider this child as one that can't fight for themselves.
SPEAKER_03Well now and from what I understand from what the mayor said yesterday the the child is in is is in uh better condition, went through a second surgery and is is expected to recover?
SPEAKER_02I have I can't give that information I can tell you that I I do see that's what I took him to say yesterday. I do know that he has had a couple of surgeries um I I am in contact with his father uh and I I pray with him you know pray for him every day um We got a long way to go.
SPEAKER_03How's the mother?
SPEAKER_02Last I checked, she was okay. I haven't talked with her because at the time she was a patient as well. And when I met the father, we exchanged numbers. And I told him I wanted to be in contact with him. But when I talked to him, he said that she was doing a lot better. You know, so it it should anger this whole community when children get hurt. You know, we do we can't stop grown folks from being, and I hate to say it, just being stupid. Okay. Because whatever beef you have with somebody, I've seen in my 31 years, I've seen people go to court for a crime they committed. And when it reality hits, when they get their 20 years, 20 plus years in jail, it's like the wind has been taken out of their cells. They realize now I messed up when you should have thought about that before. And a lot of the a lot, one of the reasons why a lot of our uh violent crime has been going down is because we've developed a partnership with our district attorney. You know, when I did when our guys get ready to go before um grand jury, they meet with our ADAs and talk about things and get these cases to where they need to be. We put a lot of people away over the last four years, you know, and and a lot of that has been a part of our slow tick. But you have that young group that you talked about that's trying to make names for themselves that's coming up, and I'm gonna give them a name. You know, well, I'm well I'm not gonna give them a name, I'm gonna give them a number, and that's gonna be an inmate number.
SPEAKER_05Okay. I have one last
AI Tools For Video And Translation
SPEAKER_05question. Sure. And you may want to splice this in earlier because I don't know if it's appropriate at the end, but uh I'm curious about the use of AI. You had mentioned cameras and you had mentioned uh some help coming in from places like Chicago and other places. Have you been looking into ways that um the cloud and the computers can help us to get ahead of the curve on like these shootings and and just these things that um just one person sitting at a desk in a at a command center may not be able to process, but you know, if you've got robots thinking for us, I mean uh I'm I'm sure you've been to seminars and things. Where are you on that?
SPEAKER_02Well, right now we're leaning towards our federal partners because they have that type of technology and the stuff that we need. Um a lot of that stuff is very costly uh and we're not budgeted for it. Um right now, the next thing that I'm gonna look at, I'm looking at some software some AI software that allows me to take 15 hours of video and download it. And when I download it, I'm looking for a black F-150. I put in there black F-150 and it narrows that down to about 15 minutes. It it eliminates so that way my detectives don't have to sit in front of a camera for 14 hours trying to find a black F-150. It'll narrow it down. Uh AI is really the way that it's going with technology. Um our body cams, we just got upgraded with our body cams, they have a feature on there to where if we're dealing with somebody from the Hispanic community or from another country, it could be, they could be Chinese, they could be Vietnamese. There's a way that uh the the our vendor, our rep, has been telling us, and I've seen it, where you can key up and say, I need to say this in Korean. I'm here to help you. What can I do for you? And you release the button and it spits it out in Korean, and then when they say response, it translated back so that you can understand it. Now, you ask, well, you can do that with your phone, but what happens is now it's on body cam, so we have a footage of what exactly happened. And when we do a report, we can go back and see what we did and why we did it.
SPEAKER_05So just don't hit that off button by mistake.
SPEAKER_02No, no. You know, the technology that we're going forward, you know can it happen? Absolutely. But we have some of our vehicles are equipped when you turn your blue lights on, the camera comes on. Our new tasers, when we get trained with, when you deploy that taser and you pull that taser and turn it on, everybody can within 25 feet goes off. So if somebody forgot, because there are some times when you ride, uh when you arrive on a scene, you're pulling down the street and you see a guy being a female, you jump out the car so fast, you don't think about activating your body cam. You just jump out and you're trying to help. And then when you realize it's like, oh man, I didn't turn my body cam on. It happens sometimes. Loss of evidence. Yeah. But I I thank you guys uh for having
Prayer, Mental Health, And Unity
SPEAKER_02me. Uh I just I I I ask that the citizens of this city, of this county, uh go in prayer, not only with us, uh, but with this country, uh, because you notice across this country, violence is on the uptake. Uh people are losing control. I do believe that some of this is mental issues. Uh I think that uh I think that the state, we have dropped the ball on mental health uh over the years, and I think we're starting to feel it uh lately. Uh but we have to unite and we gotta stop this division. It's not about you, it's not about them, it's about us. And what can we do to curve this? Uh we need to make sure that we get the proper help to those who need it, but we I just ask that the city stay in prayer for our community as a whole. And we're not the only ones that's dealing with it, you know. I mean, but we're the ones that we see because we live here. You know, we don't have the crime where you have somebody randomly just going around robbing somebody. It's to every shooting that we've had, the two individuals that were shooting know each other. They know who they are, they know why they're beefing, but when we ask them, you know, hey, what problem you have with what happened with you and Zach? Oh, I don't know Zach. I already took care of it. Yeah, oh, I'm gonna handle it. And that's and that's exactly what we get. Yeah. You know, I'm nah, I'ma handle it. I said, man, don't you don't want to throw your life away. Let me handle it. Nah, I got it, Chief. I'm gonna handle it. And they won't they won't tell us anything. You know.
SPEAKER_03Pride comes before fall, how do you think? It does. It does.
SPEAKER_05And by the time you and your guys show up, it's usually too late. Our special guest today, Chief of Police of the City of Columbus, Mr. Joseph Daughtery, Sr.
SPEAKER_02Thank you guys so much. I appreciate it. Thanks. All right.
SPEAKER_05All
Three Things You Need To Know
SPEAKER_05right, Zach, my favorite part of the show, three things I need to know.
SPEAKER_03All right, three things to know. Number one, applications are open for the Golden Triangle Law Academy. That's an initiative aiming to generate interest among young people in legal professions. Running June 22nd through 25th at the Octabahaw County Courthouse Annex, the program is open to rising sophomores through 2026 high school graduates from across the region. Interested students can visit msatjc.org slash event. Deadline to register is June 15th. Number two, despite a rainy weekend that canceled many Area Memorial Day events, Lowndes County did dedicate a marker last week to the 14 local soldiers who died in World War I and whose names were left off the original 1933 monument. MSMS student research identified the names of the soldiers, all but two of whom are black, and the new marker sits at the foot of the original monument on the Courthouse Square. Number three, this year's third grade state reading exam results were a mixed bag. 86% of Lowndes County School District students passed on the first try this year, well above the state average of 75.6%. However, at Columbus Municipal School District, the pass rate was 60.4%. Students have two more chances to pass the exam. Those who don't will not be promoted to fourth grade.
SPEAKER_05Reach out to us tips at
Wrap-Up And How To Reach Us
SPEAKER_05cdispatch.com. You can also follow me on Facebook or X at Dchishm 00 and leave a public comment. Keeping it real here in Catfish Alley Studio and Historic Downtown Columbus, your host has been Zach Plair, and I am David Chisholm. Y'all stay friendly out there.
SPEAKER_01I'm just a simple old country boy, but um I think that makes sense.
SPEAKER_02I've stepped out and I've said what I had to say.
SPEAKER_05You've been listening to Between the Headlines with Zach and David. That's what old people do.
SPEAKER_04That is.
