Gulfport police chief puts retirement on hold to help Coast with coronavirus pandemic
The Gulfport police chief has announced he is suspending plans to retire in order to help the community through the new coronavirus pandemic.
Chief Leonard Papania had said in November he would retire in August 2020 to be director of youth services with the Open Doors Homeless Coalition.
“We are in changing times and it will be important that we as a community work together to successfully see each other through these times,” he said. “I have always believed we are an exceptional community. We must all do our part to continue to be the great people we all are.”
As chief, he also is implementing three new changes:
▪ If you summon an officer and you believe that you have been exposed or you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 symptoms, we ask that you notify the Dispatcher so responding officers can prepare properly.
▪ When officers are summoned to residences or smaller structures we ask that people involved in the matter exit the structure and meet with the officers. The officers are being instructed to practice safe distancing to reduce the opportunities of exposures.
▪ Requests for police services that come into our Dispatch Center will be evaluated. When practical, some of these calls will be addressed over the phone to include report taking.
Papania began with the Gulfport Police Department in April 1991 as a reserve police officer and became a full-time police officer in 1994. He worked in the Patrol Division, the Narcotics Division and the Professional Standards Unit.
He also served as a task force agent with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and as a task force officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration. He was appointed Commander of Operations in 2006. He became Chief of Police in 2013.
“In challenging times there are those that rise to the occasion and recognize their opportunity to make our community better,” Papania said. “Unfortunately, some will attempt to gain a criminal advantage of the vulnerable. We as an agency are prepared to partner with the good and deal with the bad.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 2:27 PM.
