By Nia Whitaker and Staff Writers for The People’s Paper MS
UPDATE — JULY 28, 2026 (5:05 PM): The official deadline has passed for Covington County Sheriff Darrell Perkins, the Chief Deputy, and members of the Board of Supervisors to respond to formal, written inquiries from The People’s Paper MS.
Following our exclusive report, our newsroom demanded transparency on whether county leaders knew about Deputy Yates Zachary Rodney’s 2025 termination for alleged excessive force, or his active federal civil rights lawsuit, before authorizing taxpayer funds for his hiring. Local authorities chose total silence rather than addressing the community’s questions regarding lateral screening protocols and public financial liabilities. When public officials refuse to answer the press, they refuse to answer the people.
The baseline tracking questions county leaders refused to answer have been added to the base of this report.
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Editor’s note:This story examines public records and employment histories. It does not suggest any connection between Rodney’s past controversies and the June traffic stop shooting.
MOUNT OLIVE, Miss. — The line-of-duty shooting of Covington County Sheriff’s Deputy Yates Zachary Rodney has reopened a tough, familiar conversation in Mississippi. Neighbors and advocates are again asking how the state tracks, certifies, and rehires police officers after they lose jobs at previous agencies.
Before putting on a Covington County badge, Rodney worked for the Columbia Police Department. His time there ended in 2025 after a wave of community backlash, citizen complaints, and a federal civil rights lawsuit.
Community Backlash in Columbia
Public records show that trouble started brewing in March 2025. That is when videos and allegations about Rodney began spreading online, sparking heavy community concern. Local residents launched a petition to remove Rodney from the force, arguing he used excessive force and broke public trust. Columbia city leaders quickly suspended Rodney without pay to investigate the uproar.
Things progressed further when lawyers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Rodney and another officer. The suit claimed the officers used excessive force and violated constitutional rights during a traffic stop. Local news outlets also reported on complaints involving Rodney’s use of a Taser.
On March 18, 2025, the Columbia Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to fire Rodney.
The “Wandering Cop” Debate & How Mississippi Tracks Officers
But Rodney’s career in law enforcement did not end there. He soon put on a badge again, this time as a deputy for the Covington County Sheriff’s Office.
Critics of the state’s police system say Rodney’s case is a prime example of a “wandering cop.” The phrase describes officers who leave one department under a cloud of controversy only to get hired by another agency nearby. Reformers argue the state needs much tighter oversight before letting officers with disciplinary records return to the streets.
To understand how this happens, it helps to understand how Mississippi licenses its police forces. Every officer in the state must be certified by the Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training (BLEOST). Think of BLEOST as the state board that hands out and revokes a police officer’s license, just like a state board licenses doctors or lawyers.
Under current Mississippi law, when a local city council or board of aldermen fires a police officer, that firing does not automatically take away their state license. Unless BLEOST steps in to formally strip the officer of their certificate, that officer remains legally eligible to be hired by any other law enforcement agency in the state.
State Lawmakers Weigh In on Certification Loophole
This gap between local firings and state licensing has caught the attention of state lawmakers, including Representative Daryl Porter Jr. (D-District 98), an attorney who sits on the influential House Judiciary B Committee … the legislative group that directly oversees law enforcement regulations.
Porter acknowledged the strain the current framework places on local municipalities but emphasized the need for a balanced approach that fixes the loophole while protecting due process.
“A balanced statutory amendment would mandate automatic review, rather than automatic punishment,” Rep. Porter told The People’s Paper MS. “In my opinion, this approach strengthens accountability while protecting due process and maintaining BLEOST’s role as the independent state licensing authority.”
“Such a system would help prevent situations where an officer terminated for serious misconduct in one jurisdiction is quickly hired by another before the state has evaluated whether the officer should remain certified,” Porter added.
Regarding the financial vulnerabilities rural counties face when onboarding officers with active litigation histories, Porter noted the difficulty of balancing fiscal responsibility with legal due process.
“Counties and municipalities should have the information they need to make informed hiring decisions,” Porter said. “If there are gaps in our current system that allow serious misconduct to go unreviewed or prevent hiring agencies from having information they need, then those are issues the Legislature should address.”
Porter expressed openness to exploring a centralized statewide reporting system for substantiated misconduct, provided it includes strong safeguards against unsubstantiated allegations.
Ongoing Unresolved Litigation
The federal lawsuit remains entirely separate from the criminal investigation into the June shooting. It is also important to note that civil lawsuits contain allegations that lawyers must prove in court. No one has criminally charged or convicted Rodney in connection with any of these past claims.
Still, as Mississippians debate police accountability, Rodney’s journey from Columbia to Covington County will likely remain at the center of the conversation about public trust and officer oversight.
While state oversight systems remain a point of contention among reform advocates, local transparency also faces hurdles. Immediately following the June shooting, The People’s Paper MS placed telephone calls to Covington County Sheriff Darrell Perkins seeking comment on the agency’s hiring background checks, the deputy’s employment transition, and his administrative name usage; those messages remain unreturned.
Sources: Federal court filings for Tolar v. Rodney et al. (Case No. 2:25-cv-00026) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi; Columbia Board of Aldermen official termination meeting records (March 18, 2025); Columbia local citizen petition registries; Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training (BLEOST) operational certification guidelines and The Civil Rights Lawyer digital archives.
Questions sent to officials.
- Prior Termination Awareness:Was the Covington County Sheriff’s Department aware that Sgt. Zachary Rodney was terminated by a unanimous vote of the Columbia Board of Aldermen on March 18, 2025, prior to extending an offer of employment?
- Federal Civil Rights Litigation:Did the department’s baseline background check flag the active federal civil rights lawsuit Tolar v. Rodney et al. (Case No. 2:25-cv-00026) filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi?
- Background Screening Protocols: What specific standard operating procedures or background screening protocols does Covington County utilize when hiring lateral law enforcement officers who have been terminated from neighboring Mississippi municipalities?
- Name Usage and Transparency: Was the department aware of the administrative shift in the officer’s professional name usage from “Zachary Rodney” to “Yates Rodney” during his transition between agencies, and did this impact the tracking of his internal files?
- BLEOST Coordination: Did the Covington County Sheriff’s Department communicate with the Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training regarding the status of Rodney’s active certification before placing him on active duty?
- Awareness of Prior Termination: Was the Board of Supervisors, or the county administration, formally notified that Sgt. Zachary Rodney had been terminated via a unanimous vote of the Columbia Board of Aldermen on March 18, 2025, prior to his onboarding as a county employee?
- Fiscal Risk and Active Civil Litigation: Is the Board actively monitoring the potential financial and insurance liabilities associated with Rodney’s active federal civil rights lawsuit, Tolar v. Rodney et al. (Case No. 2:25-cv-00026), filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi?
- County Insurance and Liability Thresholds: Does Covington County’s public liability insurance carrier require specific background disclosures or supplemental risk evaluations when the Sheriff’s Department hires law enforcement personnel with active federal civil rights litigation histories?
- Hiring Oversight and Policy Reform: In light of regional discussions surrounding the “wandering cop” loophole, is the Board of Supervisors considering implementing localized policy resolutions or mandatory background-check auditing procedures for lateral law enforcement hires before county funds are authorized for their salaries?
- Name Discrepancy Tracking:Did the county payroll, human resources, or administrative systems flag the shift in the officer’s professional name usage from “Zachary Rodney” to “Yates Rodney” during his transition into Covington County employment?
