Coast party tied to kidnapping, dead dog, cop’s Disney World arrest, police say

An Alabama police officer who has no enforcement powers in Mississippi was charged with kidnapping this week after authorities accused him of arresting a man after shots were fired at a house party in Gulfport.

Harrison County deputies who responded May 24 to the 14000 block of Audubon Lake Boulevard found a marked police car driving away with a 21-year-old man handcuffed in the back seat.

Deputies stopped the car, released the man and identified the driver as David Cunningham, an off-duty police officer from Prichard, Alabama, according to a news release.

Cunningham, 22, was arrested Tuesday.

Harrison County Sheriff Matt Haley said the incident started when deputies responded to a call about shots possibly being fired at a party. Witnesses told deputies the homeowner’s dog was accidentally shot and killed by a man who left in the back of a Prichard police car.

Hanna Hendry, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department, said Cunningham got out of the car wearing his badge and gun and told deputies who stopped him that he had someone detained.

A passenger, Kristin Allen of Gulfport, turned herself in to authorities this week and faces a charge of hindering prosecution. Hendry said Allen is friends with Cunningham and is accused of helping Cunningham “alter his story” during the investigation.

Police chief vows accountability

Prichard Police Chief Walter Knight said Cunningham is on administrative leave while the department finishes an internal investigation. Knight said he learned about the incident on Monday when Harrison County detectives told the department they were seeking a warrant for Cunningham’s arrest.

Cunningham had been on vacation since Thursday and was arrested at his Disney World hotel in Orlando, Knight said. He said Cunningham had worked at the department for two months and was a “good officer,” with no history of misconduct in Prichard.

“We take these matters seriously,” Knight said. “We are committed to ensure full accountability and transparency throughout this process with our community. This is not tolerated at all at our police department.”

Cunningham resigned from the Mobile Police Department in February while he was under administrative investigation, public affairs officer Roderick Miles confirmed. Cunningham graduated from the Mobile Police Academy in March 2024, according to a social media post by the department. It is unclear what he was under investigation for. Miles said the department would not release more information because it was a “personnel matter.”

Officers in Prichard, just outside of Mobile, are allowed to take police cars over state lines only for approved classes and training. Cunningham, according to Knight, used the car for personal business. “That’s a no-no for us,” Knight said.

Hendry, the spokesperson for the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, said Cunningham was visiting Allen for the weekend when he got a phone call from someone at the party and went there in his patrol car. When he arrived, the news release says, he saw someone arguing with the homeowner, handcuffed him and drove away.

Haley said neither Cunningham or Allen called local law enforcement about the incident.

Hendry said the delay between the alleged kidnapping and Cunningham and Allen’s arrests came because authorities were interviewing witnesses and waiting for the victim to sign charges. She said several people at the May 24 party were cited for discharging guns in a neighborhood. It is unclear if the victim was one of them.

Cunningham will be held on a $500,000 bond after he is extradited from Florida.

This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 3:11 PM.