The way that the tenure of former Yazoo City Police Chief Jeff Curtis was disappointing to many Yazooans.
Curtis effectively rallied most of the community behind the department and began making much needed upgrades. When Curtis resigned many Yazooans shared the opinion that he was undermined by elected officials. The whole story may never be known because state investigators are apparently uninterested or unwilling to take a closer look despite calls from concerned citizens and even the mayor saying that the department could use some scrutiny.
Regardless of how you may feel about what happened, we should all be able to agree that the new Chief Andre Lloyd deserves our support. His success is criticial to our community.
Public safety is always of critical importance to any community, but it is especially so for Yazoo City during this time where our community has opportunities for growth that we haven’t experienced in a long time. The Willie Morris Parkway is finally complete, and Walmart will soon be open for business. Other new business will likely follow, and there’s plenty of room on the parkway.
One of the things those businesses will consider when they look at Yazoo City is public safety. No one is going to be eager to invest heavily in a community where their operations are going to be plagued by crime.
While growing the local economy is certainly a high priority, when it comes to public safety money isn’t nearly as important lives – our lives and the lives of the officers sworn to protect us.
Mr. Lloyd has been a loyal member of the Yazoo City Police Department for many years. He served as interim police chief, and he served as assistant chief during Curtis’ administration. He has the experience to get the job done.
What he needs, and deserves, is our support.
