Columbia terminates new police hire

COLUMBIA, Miss. (WDAM) - A special-called Board of Aldermen meeting was held Friday night in Columbia in regards to a new hire in the city’s police department.

The Board went into executive session shortly after the meeting began. After the executive session, the Board voted to terminate Josh Strickland, who was approved as a hire to the Columbia Police Department during Tuesday’s scheduled meeting.

Strickland had recently worked as a deputy for the Forrest County Sheriff’s Department. Strickland and another deputy were involved in an on-duty fatal crash that killed two people in January. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

The two deputy’s resigned following the incident after the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office placed them on administrative leave pending the investigation.