Leaders of the northern Mississippi city of Senatobia fired their embattled police chief late Tuesday, days after Mississippi Today, Verite News and The New York Times reported that he had routinely used degrading language and racist slurs against Black people in his text messages.
Chief Harold Vanderford, known as Hal, had submitted a resignation letter earlier in the day, but the city’s Board of Aldermen voted to reject it and moved to terminate him instead.
Chief Vanderford’s department has been heavily scrutinized in the wake of a white officer’s fatal shooting of Kohen Wiley, a Black toddler, after police officers responded to a shoplifting call at the local Walmart in June.
“We did not accept Vanderford’s resignation and fired him,” Alderman Chris McConnell said, adding that the decision had been unanimous.
Chief Vanderford and a department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In recent days, Chief Vanderford had not responded to multiple phone calls and written messages from reporters, including notes left at his home and office.
In late August, reporters for Mississippi Today, Verite News and The New York Times jointly revealed that Chief Vanderford had used a racist slur more than a dozen times in a series of 10 text conversations dating to last summer. One day before Chief Vanderford’s termination, Mississippi Today and Verite published the uncensored messages along with the steps they had taken to verify them.
Chief Vanderford took the helm of the department last October, and the racist messages continued after his appointment. In one text message, the chief described having a “racist moment.” In another, he wrote that he had “almost beat” a man, using a racist slur to describe a Black person. He also wrote that he had been saying the slur loudly many times at home, and hoped his neighbors had heard him. Five of Chief Vanderford’s acquaintances confirmed that the phone number associated with the messages belonged to the chief.
Senatobia’s aldermen had met with Chief Vanderford twice in closed-door sessions after the revelations about his text messages. After the first session on Aug. 25, a statement attributed to the mayor and the board of aldermen expressed confidence in the chief after he “voluntarily and willingly” appeared before city leaders and provided “sincere” responses to their questions. That statement did not elaborate on the questions posed to Chief Vanderford or the specifics of his responses.
Mr. McConnell issued a clarification soon after, saying he believed Chief Vanderford should address the citizens of Senatobia. He disavowed the city’s statement, saying it had not been voted upon by the Board of Aldermen even though it was attributed to them.
Demetrius Garrett, an alderman for Senatobia, said the same thing about the statement Monday. He added that he had personally asked the mayor to resign from his position, too.
“We need a mayor that cares about the people,” Mr. Garrett said, adding that when a city doesn’t have such a mayor, “you land yourself in situations like this.”
Mayor Greg Graves hasn’t responded to numerous requests for comment from reporters in the last month.
The controversy in Senatobia began in June, when officers chased two women carrying a toddler through a Walmart parking lot in response to a report that they had shoplifted a box of diapers and some baby clothes. Officers surrounded the car with guns raised.
According to a statement released the day of the shooting by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, “the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one.” At least one officer then fired at the car, killing Kohen, who was in his mother’s arms, and injuring the driver, Latoya Ferrell.
Chief Vanderford has said nothing about the shooting publicly, and Kohen’s family said the chief hadn’t offered condolences privately.
The city’s Board of Aldermen placed the officer involved, Sgt. Hunter Foster, on leave two days after the shooting, which remains under investigation by the state investigation bureau.
Since Mr. Vanderford took over as chief, Mr. Foster has separately faced at least two complaints that he used racially offensive language with co-workers, Mississippi Today reported in July and August. There’s no indication that Chief Vanderford took any disciplinary action against Foster, who was allowed to remain on patrol.
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