Senatobia, Mississippi: Fire Damages Police Headquarters, and Federal Agents Join the Investigation

A fire damaged the headquarters of the Senatobia Police Department in northern Mississippi early on Saturday, and federal agents are now helping local investigators work out how it started. The Associated Press reported that it was not clear what caused the fire at the headquarters, or whether it had been set on purpose. The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating alongside local agencies.

The Senatobia Fire Department said firefighters were dispatched to the police headquarters at 4:58 a.m. on Saturday after smoke was reported inside the building, and that crews put the fire out quickly. Agents from the ATF New Orleans Field Division were at the building on Saturday. No official account has put a figure on the damage, and the fire department released no details about how much of the building was affected.

The police department said it remains operational, with no interruption to police services. In a statement issued on Saturday night, interim Police Chief LaMorris Hampton said: "We want to assure the public that this incident is being taken extremely seriously." He added: "Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation, certain details cannot be released at this time." Hampton said the department understood the concerns the fire may raise in the community, and that its officers remain dedicated to serving with "professionalism, integrity, and transparency."

A department already under scrutiny

The fire lands on a department that has faced months of public anger in Senatobia, a city of about 8,000 people roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Memphis, Tennessee. In June, a Senatobia officer fired into a vehicle while investigating a shoplifting call at a Walmart store and killed 1 year old Kohen Wiley. The boy was riding in the vehicle with his mother, Vellesiya Wiley, who was not hurt, and her friend Latoya Ferrell, who was seriously injured.

Police said officers had tried to stop the vehicle and that the driver drove toward them before the officer opened fire. The two women denied that they had stolen anything, and no charges have been filed against them. The case split the city, and it has stayed in the news ever since.

In September, Police Chief Harold Vanderford was fired after reporting by The New York Times, Mississippi Today and Verite News alleged that he had used racist slurs in private text messages. Earlier this month, the officer who fired the shot in June resigned from the department. On October 19, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch ruled that the officer's use of force had been justified, a decision the boy's family disputes.

What investigators have not said

Investigators have announced no cause, no suspect and no accusation that the fire was set deliberately, and the early headlines calling it arson go beyond what officials have confirmed. The Associated Press said it had asked the Senatobia fire and police departments and the Tate County Sheriff's Office for comment. Until the ATF and local agencies report what they found inside the building, the fire is one more unanswered question for a city that has spent months arguing over how it is policed.