Senatobia City Leaders Retain Police Chief After Racist Text Scandal

City leaders in Senatobia, Mississippi, are maintaining support for Harold Vanderford, the police chief accused of using racial slurs in private text messages. Reports from Mississippi Today and The New York Times revealed more than a dozen slurs across ten conversations dating from the summer of 2025 through his tenure as chief. The messages include an admission of having a "racist moment" and a claim that he nearly assaulted a Black man and a white woman.

Following a voluntary meeting on August 25, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen described Vanderford's responses as "sincere" and announced he will remain in his position. Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the family of a toddler killed by police, is calling for immediate accountability.

The controversy coincides with intense scrutiny of the Senatobia Police Department. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating the June death of one-year-old Kohen Wiley, who was killed when an officer fired shots at a vehicle during a shoplifting call. Additionally, internal complaints allege that Sergeant Hunter Foster made racially offensive comments to colleagues shortly before the child's death; Foster remains on patrol.