FBI makes several arrests among Mississippi law enforcement agencies, sheriff says

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi deputy sheriff was arrested Thursday by the FBI, one of several arrests it made across multiple law enforcement agencies in the state, a local sheriff said.

Sunflower County Sheriff James Haywood confirmed the arrest of his deputy, Marvin Flowers. He also said the FBI arrested the sheriffs of two other counties, in addition to other law enforcement officers, on allegations of public corruption. Haywood did not provide further details about the allegations.

“The public's trust is going to be destroyed,” Haywood said. “This is a big blow for law enforcement."

Haywood said Flowers worked for the department for 13 years. Sunflower County is in the northwest part of the state.

It wasn't immediately known if Haywood had a lawyer .

The FBI office in Jackson, the state capital, said it planned a major announcement later Thursday together with the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Mississippi. It did not elaborate on the nature of the planned announcement.

Multiple Mississippi law enforcement agencies and sheriffs have faced federal scrutiny in recent years.

In 2024, the former Hinds County Sheriff Marshand Crisler was convicted of accepting $9,500 in bribes and knowingly providing ammunition to a convicted felon. The same year, former Noxubee County Sheriff Terry Grassaree pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI while being questioned about requesting and receiving nude photos from a female inmate.

William Brewer, a former Tallahatchie County sheriff, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2019 for extorting brides from a drug dealer.

In 2023, six law enforcement officers pleaded guilty to state and federal charges for torturing two Black men, a case that sparked a Department of Justice investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office. A similar DOJ probe concluded last year that officers of the Lexington Police Department discriminated against Black people.