By Shelia Byrd Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Highway Patrol has continued unfair practices since a racial discrimination complaint was filed on behalf of Black state troopers, and the agency’s chief should be removed or have his authority curtailed, a state NAACP leader said recently.
Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, alleged that the law enforcement agency has stopped posting open positions. Instead, the jobs “are being advertised by word of mouth or over the patrol radio cars,” Mr. Johnson said March 11 during a news conference.
He said the action has limited the ability of Black troopers to even know about the open positions.
Mr. Johnson also said that Col. Michael Berthay, who has command of the troopers, “should be removed or his authority limited.” Mr. Johnson said Col. Berthay “sets the tone of the department.”
A spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, which oversees
the Highway Patrol, said DPS Commissioner Steve Simpson couldn’t be reached
for comment.
Mr. Johnson said the NAACP filed the complaint on behalf of about 200 Black
state troopers with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in January,
but the allegations of racial slurs, a hostile work environment and denied
promotions dating back three years.
He said his organization filed the grievance on behalf of the troopers so
they wouldn’t encounter retaliation.
Commissioner Simpson has appointed an independent three-member panel to
investigate the discrimination allegations. The panel was to make a report
to lawmakers on March 12.
State Senator David Jordan, who chairs a legislative committee that
investigates state agencies, said the situation needs to be resolved quickly
and outside of the courtroom.
“These men have got to cover each others’ backs,” state Sen. Jordan
(D-Greenwood) said, adding that he hopes no lawsuit is filed in the case.
According to Mr. Johnson, the Mississippi Highway Patrol was forced to
racially integrate after a lawsuit by Black law enforcement officers in the
1970s, and the patrol remained under a federal consent decree until early
this decade. The decree was designed to eliminate discriminatory practices
in hiring, firing and promotions.
Commissioner Simpson has said the Mississippi Highway Patrol has 608
troopers—387 who are White men and 208 who are Black men. There are six
White women and three Black women. Two troopers are Hispanic and two are
Asian.
Allen Lyles, president of the Mississippi State Troopers Association, said
he’s hopeful the law enforcement agency can withstand the controversy.
“Of course it hurts to have any unfounded allegations made against an
organization that takes its mission so seriously,” Mr. Lyles said in an
e-mail to The Associated Press.