A Senatobia man was charged after biting a police officer, but was released from the hospital without jail time.
On Thursday, June 2, at approximately 8:40 p.m., Senatobia Police Department responded to a disturbance call at Providence Place Apartments located at 800 Moores Crossing. The 911 call was in reference to a domestic disturbance between a mother and her adult son, Devin Ward, 34, of Senatobia.
When officers arrived on scene, Ward’s mother was located locked inside her vehicle with Ward on the apartment balcony.
After officers convinced Ward to come downstairs and outside, he appeared agitated according to reports. In bodycam footage, Ward can be seen raising and drawing back his arm in aggression toward several police officers who were on scene. At one point in the footage, Ward can be seen approaching a Senatobia K-9 officer with hostility and yelling at the officer and his canine who was leashed beside him. He can be heard stating to officers, “I’m going to break your jaw.”
In the footage, Ward can be seen running at an officer and attacking him, at which point several officers approached in order to subdue Ward and place him in restraints. Before Ward was restrained, the footage reveals Ward on top of an officer aggressively biting his forearm. Ward was charged with felony simple assault on a public servant.
Pafford EMS was dispatched to the scene to treat the police officer, but according to Senatobia Assistant Police Chief Matt Defore, body camera footage indicated that they would not transport Ward due to his continued combative behavior.
Pafford EMS would not release documentation verifying the events due to HIPPA regulations protecting patient confidentiality.
Ward was evaluated by Crisis Intervention Trained, CIT, officers and it was determined the only course of action was to place him into custody for the charges and transport him to the jail for holding.
In bodycam footage it can be seen that upon arrival at the Tate County Jail, officers were informed Ward would not be allowed to be booked into jail for holding. Jail personnel can be seen entering the booking area and saying, “I just got off the phone with the sheriff, and he said we are not taking him.”
According to Defore, a call was made to Tate County Chief Deputy Victor Byrd and officers were informed Ward was too combative and needed to be evaluated at a hospital. Ward was then transported to Delta Health-Highland Hills Hospital for treatment and evaluation.
Defore said additional calls were made to Byrd, Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance and jail personnel to see if Ward could be booked into jail following his treatment at the hospital. The requests were denied.
Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler said additional calls were made to Communicare, an organization which finds placements in institutions for individuals experiencing mental and behavioral distress. Chandler said Communicare advised jail was the only option considering the combative nature of Ward’s behavior following the attack on the police officer.
With no other options available, Ward was released from custody back into society at the hospital.
“We are fed up with the fact that the rules at the jail change on the whims of the sheriff,” said Chandler. “His actions are putting the people of Tate County in danger.”
In an email obtained by the Tate Record, Chief Chandler addresses the issue with Sheriff Lance. In the email, Chandler explains that his officers are trained in the CIT program to deal with mental consumers.
“As a CIT trained officer, they have three options: 1. The subject is voluntarily left in the care of their family or other medical professionals to receive treatment. 2. The subject is placed under a CIT hold and is transported by officers to a facility that holds them for 48 hours so staff can do an evaluation and determine if further treatment is needed. 3. The subject is charged with a crime and is transported to a jail to be held,” stated Chandler.
In the email, Chandler then addresses facts surrounding the three options.
“The subject’s mother could not control him which was the reason for the police being there. If the subject was not in a manic state, and he did not have charges for assault on an officer, we would have been able to try to take him to a mental healthcare facility. This subject was charged with a crime. He bit our officer while fighting with several officers. The jail was the safest place for him and the community.”
Despite numerous attempts to obtain descriptions and explanations, Tate County Sheriff’s Office officials refused to comment on the circumstances surrounding the events.
