A city official in Mobile, Ala. is accusing the Biloxi Police Department of transporting dozens of homeless people across the Mississippi-Alabama state line.
James Barber, the chief of staff for the city of Mobile, sent a letter to Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Thursday, Oct. 5, claiming there has been an influx in Mobile’s homeless population over the past several months and interviews with homeless individuals have revealed that Biloxi police officers were coercing them to travel to Mobile through “intimidation and fear to fraud and deception.”
“During the exchange, the officer, while in uniform and acting under his apparent authority, implies to the homeless individual that they are in violation of one or more criminal statutes,” Barber said of a recent incident. “The officer further explains the city of Biloxi does not have adequate social services programs to assist the homeless. At that point, the officer insinuates the individual has a choice of either going to jail or being transported to Mobile.”
Barber said that officers have been known to offer assistance such as, “When you are ready to get your life in order, I can get you help,” before placing the homeless person in the police vehicle.
“Once the individual agrees or requests the offered assistance, they are placed in a police vehicle, driven to Mobile, and dropped off in close proximity to a homeless shelter,” Barber explained. “During one interview, the individual said the transporting officer was bragging to a co-worker that he had transported over 50 people to Mobile.”
The most recent account from a homeless individual contained the approximate time, date, and location of when a Biloxi officer dropped him off in Mobile, with Barber adding that investigators were able to find video footage of the police vehicle in the vicinity at the same time.
“We found additional pictures of the same police car exiting I-10 from the eastbound direction and returning to I-10 westbound approximately 10 minutes later,” Barber detailed. “At this point, we have not sought to access the license plate readers for additional supporting evidence.”
The letter ends by accusing officers of the Biloxi Police Department of depriving numerous homeless people of their Constitutional rights and requests for the city to “cease and desist from transporting, providing transportation, arranging transportation, or generally allowing for the movement of homeless people from Biloxi, Ms. to Mobile, Al.”
Gilich responded to Barber’s claims the following day, arguing that less than 20 people have been transported to two shelters in Mobile since August 2022. He added that the city began working with the shelters a little over a year ago since the two Mobile locations have numerous resources that are not available in Biloxi.
“These shelters have been in coordination and contact with our police department, and any individuals wanting to go to the Mobile shelters have signed consent forms… During the 2023 calendar year only two people were offered transportation and assistance to the shelters,” Gilich said. “While it is true that some individuals have utilized the services of the Mobile shelters, the inferences in your letter attributing some wrongdoing by our police department are incorrect.”
Gilich concluded by saying that his office welcomes an open discussion with Barber’s administration and law enforcement officers if they would like to discuss the details any further. The full letters from both Barber and Gilich can be viewed below.
