Attorney Mike Carr Speaks at a Police Benevolent Foundation Seminar

On Friday Jan 23, our firm helped sponsor a day long seminar with the Police Benevolent Foundation, Mississippi PBA Division of the Southern States, and LEAPS Training, LLC at Broadmoor Baptist church in Madison to educate law enforcement officers, administrators, and their family members about the hidden dangers of PTSD and it’s connection to the high rate of law enforcement suicide. We talked about therapy, sobriety, and many different issues facing law enforcement.

As part of this, I took the opportunity to discuss the increasing amount of work that our firm is doing representing officers before the Mississippi Board of Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training (BLEOST).

In 15 years of being a PBA attorney, I had maybe one appearance before the board. This past year, I have had five. And more are on the way.

These board hearings are especially concerning because there is currently no requirement for BLEOST to produce discovery prior to the hearing - despite an officer’s request for it. It is the only board before which I’ve ever appeared where there is still trial by ambush. The officer literally learns in real time the entire investigative file against him. I have an appeal pending in Hinds county chancery court on this very issue at the moment.

And some officers are losing their certifications for up to 10 years. It ends careers.

Pictured in this post is a House Bill being discussed today to remedy this huge problem for officers. I’m glad that the lawyer/legislators that care about this issue on behalf of individual law enforcement officers are pushing it to the floor.

Thank you to Rep. Elliot Burch for assisting in drafting this bill (PBA atty and former MBN agent), and to fellow PBA atty Francis Springer for being our counterpart in South Mississippi in pushing this issue.

Individual officers are entitled to due process before BLEOST just like everyone else.

If you or a fellow officer get a notice letter from BLEOST, whether you are PBA or not, please consider contacting our firm at 662-441-1529. If we can’t help you, we can find someone who can.

Do not go alone. Join PBA. They are on your side.