After becoming the fourth police chief in six months and following a federal investigation that led to policing reforms, Lexington’s new leader, David Simmons, said establishing trust in the community is a major goal of his.
The Board of Aldermen appointed Simmons as chief May 5, less than three months after appointing Kenneth Gee, an officer in the department, as interim and beginning a search for a permanent chief.
Simmons acknowledged the lack of stability in police leadership during the first half of the year, and he said he was brought on to rebuild trust within the police force and the community.
“The community needed someone that they could trust and build a relationship with. They knew me from the past, everyone knew me from around here,” he said Tuesday. “They wanted someone they could trust and be treated right by.”
Simmons has worked in law enforcement since 2005 in police departments around Holmes County and in Yazoo City. Simmons was also a patrol officer in Lexington in 2008.
Since becoming chief, he said he has worked on revamping the department’s policies and procedures. He is also looking for ways to attract and hire more officers, which requires higher pay.
Simmons became chief of the Cruger Police Department in 2015 and will continue to serve in that part-time capacity. The Holmes County town of 368 is about 20 miles from Lexington.
Simmons also is an emergency medical technician, has worked with the Holmes County School District for over a decade and owns a consulting business in the county. He is also a member of the board that oversees the Dr. Arenia C. Mallory Community Health Center, which has seven locations across Holmes, Leflore and Madison counties.
The last permanent police chief in Lexington was Charles Henderson, whom the board let go in January when the Department of Public Safety suspended his law enforcement certification.
After Henderson, the Board of Aldermen appointed interim chief Robert Kirklin, who left less than a month later. Kirklin previously worked for and retired from Lexington police and came out of retirement for the interim role. The board then appointed Gee as interim.
Henderson’s departure also happened around the time when the Board of Aldermen voted to adopt police reforms recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice. Those reforms were based on a 2023 pattern and practice investigation that found constitutional violations and a practice of jailing people for unpaid fines without determining if they could pay them.
Simmons said he is working closely with the mayor and the board to implement the DOJ recommendations.
Years earlier, residents alleged Lexington police used discriminatory policing practices, excessive force and retaliation against critics. Some of those actions resulted in lawsuits, including one filed by the legal organization JULIAN.
Henderson became chief in 2022 after the former chief, Sam Dobbins, who is white, was fired after a leaked recording captured him using racial and homophobic slurs when describing how he used force while on the job.
After several years of turmoil in the department, Simmons said he hopes to treat everyone equally.
“I give respect and I expect to be respected,” he said. “You will be treated right when you come to Lexington in the city, but you also will be held accountable.”
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