New Police Chief in Moss Point

MOSS POINT --Former police investigator Keith Davis was sworn in as Moss Point's new police chief during a ceremony Monday, May 16, at Pelican Landing Conference Center, according to media reports

Davis, 40, came to Moss Point from the D'Iberville Police Department, where he had been captain of the Criminal Investigations Division. He has 18 years of experience in law enforcement.

Davis replaced former Police Chief Shelia Smallman, who became Moss Point's top officer in 2008. She made history when she became the first female police chief in Moss Point, and only the second female to officially hold the office of police chief within the six counties that make up South Mississippi.

Smallman was dismissed in March after the Moss Point Board of Aldermen expressed a lack of confidence in her leadership of the police department. Deputy Chief Bobby Johnson served as interim chief until Davis was hired.

Reports from The Mississippi Press said that Davis began his law enforcement career with Gulfport Police Department, where he became sergeant during his seven years there. He worked as police chief at the Perkinston Campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

He earned a bachelor's degree in justice adminstration from University of Southern Mississippi, and is a graduate of Mississippi Law Enforcement Command College at University of Mississippi. He also is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy.

The Sun Herald reported that Davis has pledged to build trust within the police department and among residents in Moss Point. The Mississippi Press reported that Davis calls himself a "man of faith." He said he has faith in faith in God, in the city's police personnel and city leadership, and faith in his years of police training.

Breaking News: Wife of Deputy Chief Dies

MOSS POINT – City officials learned late this morning that the wife of Deputy Chief Bobby Johnson died following a vehicle wreck in Florida.

Mrs. Johnson, whose first name was unavailable for this report, was in Jacksonville on Friday visiting with her daughter, who also was involved in the vehicle accident but was not hurt, according to Mayor Aneice Liddell. She said the deputy chief wife’s had been in Florida since Wednesday.

Apparently, Mrs. Johnson was reported to have been doing well after the wreck but died later at an area hospital.

Further details about the cause of her death and the accident itself were not known for this report.

Mayor Aneice Liddell said Deputy Chief Johnson was on his way to Jacksonville when he learned that his wife had passed away. She said Johnson and his daughter have other family members who live in Jacksonville.

Johnson's wife was always supportive of her husband, and attended any and every function that involved the deputy chief, the mayor said. "He and his wife did everything together. They were very close."

Liddell said another officer from the Moss Point Police Department probably would travel to Jacksonville to help Johnson make the return trip to the city, but exact plans depend on continuing circumstances surrounding his spouse's death.

"We are waiting to see what his needs are," she said around midday Friday.