A Mississippi town is moving to a two-person police department following a vote from the board of aldermen.
Beaumont, a roughly 650-person town outside of Hattiesburg, previously had five officers with officials deciding to cut ties with three of those on Tuesday night. While no clear reason was provided for the department’s slashing, the board’s decision leaves Chief Jeremy McSwain and one part-time officer as the only officers remaining on staff.
“We were already short-handed, but we were doing the best we could to keep the town of Beaumont safe and the people of Beaumont satisfied,” McSwain told local TV station WDAM after the vote.
The chief was visibly dissatisfied with the board’s decision and so were some residents. Multiple business owners and community members were in attendance on Tuesday and stressed concerns about crime going up with such a small police force. Several others in attendance agreed with cutting the staff.
Beaumont does receive some patrolling from the Perry County Sheriff’s Office. Mayor Scotty Daily will have a chance to veto the board’s decision on Aug. 22.
