Mississippi officer out of job after 10-year-old is taken into custody for urinating in public

SENATOBIA, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi police officer who took part in the arrest and jailing of a 10-year-old child who urinated in a parking lot is “no longer employed,” and other officers will be disciplined over the incident, the city’s police chief said.

Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler announced the news in a Facebook post Monday, but he didn’t specify whether the officer who has left the department was fired or quit, or what type of discipline the other officers would face. Chandler didn’t immediately reply to a Tuesday voicemail seeking further information about the changes.

“We appreciate the public’s patience while we investigated this incident. We deeply value your trust and support, and we are dedicated to continually improving and learning from our mistakes,” Chandler wrote in the Facebook post, noting that the officers violated their training on how to deal with children.

The child’s mother told news outlets that her son urinated behind her vehicle while she was visiting a lawyer’s office on Aug. 10, and that officers then put him in a squad car and took him to the police station.

Chandler said the child was not handcuffed or charged and that the officers issued a citation for a “child in need of services.” It wasn’t clear Tuesday if that citation had been rescinded.

Senatobia has about 8,100 residents and is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Memphis, Tennessee.