Residents of Winona still have a police force, despite Aldermen voting during a special called meeting on March 30 to fire Chief Roshaun Daniels.
Alderman Mickey Austin, who called the meeting, read several ordinances to address Daniels’ role in the shooting and killing of several dogs that had been housed at the city’s pound.
“The lawyer said it’s legal for the police to shoot a dog at large. I’m not sure that ‘at large’ means in a pen. It says that ‘at large’ means that the dog is not inside a locked fence, yard or other enclosure,” said Austin.
He continued to read, “Any dangerous, fierce or vicious dog found at large, whether they are wearing required identification or not, cannot be safely taken or impounded [and] may be destroyed by any law enforcement personnel authorized to carry a deadly weapon.”
Then Austin addressed the matter of items placed into a dumpster.
“The following items are specifically prohibited from being discarded or dumped at the city barn– no household garbage, no animal carcass, no dumping of any items prohibited by the Department of Environmental Quality,” said Austin.
He asked Animal Control Officer Vidal Anderson if Daniels ordered him to throw the carcasses into the dump. However, Anderson admitted he could not remember the specific wording of how he was expected to dispose of the carcasses.
After a brief back and forth with Anderson, Austin said, “What used to happen is the animal control officer didn’t shoot the dogs. He’d call the police department, and the police department came -- somebody trained to use a firearm – and shot the dogs and then they were buried.”
Following his discussion with Anderson, Austin motioned to terminate Daniels’ employment which was seconded by Alderwoman Linda Purnell.
Austin admitted part of his motivation to terminate Daniels’ was the chief’s “bad attitude” toward members of WAAG during a meeting they had last month to discuss the killing and disposal of the animals.
Austin said he did not like Daniels telling one of the women she could go to jail for harassing someone on social media.
Austin and Purnell’s decision was met with an ultimatum from most of the Winona Police Department: If the Board fired Daniels, nearly every certified police personnel would resign from duty.
Also in response to the motion, Harris said, “So, you want to terminate the man. You’ve done punished him 10 days without pay for his family, and then you’re gonna turn around and terminate him because he threw a carcass in the dumpster? But, you’re the same person that couldn’t stand up for an infant at the Hitching Post and shut it down. That’s in your ward.”
Mayor Aaron Dees echoed the fact that Daniels and Anderson were following the law in euthanizing the dogs by gun.
“The carcass part was a different story,” said Dees. “They were following the law when they put the animals down. You made that clear.”
Harris followed, “We have a kill shelter; it’s not a rescue shelter. These are the strays that are roaming the streets and causing a nuisance. Even Ms. Linda said on the day we hired Anderson, they need to come over there and do something with those dogs.”
Board members voted 3-2 to fire Daniels, with Harris and Alderman Travis Johnson voting against. Aldermen Austin, Purnell and Sylvia Clark voted in favor.
Officer Tanareka Williams spoke up, saying, “So, you’re saying you don’t care if you don’t have police officers out here on these streets?”
Purnell answered, “They are not doing anything. They’re not doing nothing,” causing many of the officers to leave the boardroom in outrage.
Further defending Daniels, Harris said to Purnell, “The problem is you’re mad because he got you’re son for a felony fleeing.”
The statement led to a heated argument between Purnell and Harris, which prompted Dees to remind the board of the behavior they can expect throughout the city if the police department resigns.
“Well, that’s fine. We can order some,” said Purnell.
Dees then vetoed the motion due to a 3-2 vote, preventing both the termination of Daniels’ employment and the mass resignation of the city’s police.
During a regular meeting on Tuesday, Harris made a motion to reinstate Daniels as police chief, and Purnell seconded. Board members voted all in favor.
