Mississippi asst. police chief charged with domestic violence

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Assistant Police Chief of Coldwater, Mississippi, was arrested in Tunica County Thursday evening.

Walter French, 40, was booked into Tunica County Jail at 6:22 p.m. French has been charged with simple domestic violence.

The Tunica County Sheriff’s Office says they received a call on the night of May 31 from a 22-year-old woman who stated she’d been assaulted by French at an address on Cedar Drive in Tunica.

French was not at the scene when officers arrived, and a warrant for his arrest was issued. French turned himself in at the sheriff’s office Thursday evening.

He was later released on his own recognizance from the Tunica County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in court June 20.

The Coldwater Police Department confirmed French’s employment and said he is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Billy Simmons said the victim, his granddaughter, has a child by French. Simmons isn’t sure what exactly happened to cause the Domestic Violence charge.

“He seemed like a pretty good guy. I never had any problems with him around me or anything like that,” Simmons said. “There’s more than one side of things. You have to get both sides. I hadn’t even talked to him and hadn’t said much to her either.”

Simmons says neither his granddaughter nor her child was hurt.

Coldwater Police Chief Rickey Dandridge called French a good officer, but stressed, “We want to uphold integrity. We want to make sure we do what is right. How can we enforce the law if we’re breaking the law?”

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