A Mississippi police chief reportedly put a gun to his own chest and squeezed the trigger right after being notified of his unpaid suspension Thursday.
Chief Mike DeNardo walked out of the police station in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and fatally shot himself in the parking lot. He was rushed to a hospital before succumbing to his gunshot wound. Authorities say it was undoubtably suicide.
DeNardo was under investigation by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office for a personnel issue, but his name was likely to be cleared of misconduct, The Associate Press reports. Specific details have not been released, but Mayor Les Fillingame said the investigation was in an early phase and no charges had been filed.
In an interview, Fillingame also said DeNardo was struggling with the recent death of his mother.
Sheriff’s deputies were escorting DeNardo out of the police station where he had just finished turning in equipment when the incident took place.
“We were here to assist the City of Bay St. Louis and their mayor to escort Chief DeNardo from the office and obtain his city issued equipment. At that time, it just kind of went bad, I guess,” Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam said.
DeNardo was reportedly standing next to a vehicle when he fired the shot.
Inside the crime scene tape, an open trunk is surrounded by hats, paper littered on ground. https://t.co/LUmfV1GlE8 pic.twitter.com/DeX2mTfOCb
— Nicole Harris (@NicTheEditor) September 8, 2016
The Bay St. Louis City Council held an emergency meeting and subsequently voted to temporarily put the sheriff’s office in command of the police department Thursday night. An interim police chief was appointed to replace DeNardo.
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