Sumrall officer suspended for Facebook post. Alderman accused of racism. What happened?

When Arthrine Collins stepped up to address the Sumrall, Mississippi Board of Aldermen, she had the backing of a packed board room.

The 75-year-old Sumrall resident spoke softly but with conviction about a post she saw on Facebook made by Ward 1 Alderman Lamar Reed.

In May, Reed shared a meme that says “Government repair kit” that included an image of three nooses hanging from the gallows.

“When I saw it, I wondered why anyone would post something like that in this day and time,” Collins said. “What that is showing — it's slavery. It says the government needs to go back and start hanging these n****rs.”

Collins was even more disappointed that the meme was shared by someone she had known since he was in high school and whose mother was her friend.

"I said, 'Why would Lamar say something like that, put something on his Facebook like that?'" she said. "I just never knew he had that in him. It just broke my heart. I couldn't sleep last night." Arthrine Collins

Reed defended the post, saying it was "self-deprecating humor."

“I don’t see it that way,” Reed said. "I don't see Black people that way. I don't see anything that way. To me, it was humor. But if that's the way you interpret it, that's fine."

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He added that throughout the history of the United States, people of all races were hanged. Reed said his interpretation of the meme was that government officials are the ones in need of repair.

"Lamar!" Collins said, interrupting the alderman. "You're not playing with a fool."

Rumblings from the standing-room-only crowd could be heard in the background. "He ain't even sorry," one person said. "He don't get it," said another. A couple of residents walked out angrily.

"I'm going to lose it," one said.

"You represent all (Sumrall) citizens — Black, white, green, yellow, blue — it upset me. You shouldn't have done it, Lamar," Collins said.

"I regret that you were offended by it, but I saw it as humor," Reed said.

"You was not in slavery," Collins said.

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Collins handed copies of Reed's post to the aldermen and mayor. The board listened as Collins and Reed exchanged words.

As Collins returned to her seat, she was applauded by the crowd.

Ironically, the board's special-called meeting was held Thursday night to address a similar issue involving a Sumrall police officer.

Josh Gandy was suspended with pay Tuesday at the board's regular meeting for making a Facebook post that allegedly violates the city's social media policy. About a dozen police officers and sheriff's deputies attended the meeting to show support for Gandy.

The aldermen discussed Gandy's suspension and possible disciplinary action in executive session for a little more than an hour, but the issue remained unresolved.

Instead, the aldermen voted to "maintain (Gandy's) current employment status until further notice."

Town attorney Barbara Parker said after the meeting was adjourned that the aldermen authorized her to seek options for evaluating all town operations from an independent consultant, but did not elaborate any further.

Resident Tina Wolf said the contrast between the reaction to Reed and Gandy's posts was contradictory and hypocritical.

"It's upsetting that the people on the board can say and post whatever they choose and our police officers can't say anything that's humorous or funny," she said. "With the decision that was made tonight, that's unfair."

Having an officer on leave indefinitely is a disservice to residents, too, Wolf said.

"I understand the police officer is suspended with pay, but now we're down an officer in our town, putting our citizens and risk and also putting his partner at risk," she said.

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Amy Howard attended Thursday's meeting because she heard about Gandy's suspension and came to show support for him. She doesn't know Gandy outside of his capacity as a police officer.

"When I looked at the Facebook post myself, there was not a (specific) person, place or thing besides 'Mayberry' mentioned, and I found that humorous," she said. "I heard about the alderman's post and I did not find that humorous.

"I have a biracial grandchild and I'm concerned for him, for some of the citizens and even some of our officers. How can we know they are going to be treated fairly and equally and how do we know that our officers are not in a hostile work environment? None of our officers or business owners feel safe to speak up."

Howard said Reed should be held to a much higher standard than a police department employee since he is an elected official. Collins agreed.

"It would have made me feel much better if he apologized, but I still don't have no trust in him," Collins said. "To come out with something like that — it hurt me. He's up there making decisions for me," Collins said. "Is he going to pretend he's doing something for the Black community and he ain't doing nothing for us?"

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Sumrall police officer accused of inappropriate Facebook posts