NATCHEZ — Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten provided Natchez Rotarians with an overview of struggles and successes over the last four years at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
“This is not a political speech,” Patten said. “It’s an update on what the men and women of the sheriff’s office have been through over the last four years.”
COVID-19, the ongoing manpower shortage, police reform prompted by the George Floyd incident and difficult challenges associated with operating an unsafe and inadequate jail have all taken their toll, the sheriff said.
However, he said sheriff’s deputies and other personnel have provided leadership for the community through each crisis, even when dealing with their own.
“In the last three years, our county and country have been through some major crises, which have made the sheriff’s office more resilient in facing all types of challenges,” Patten said.
Despite working some 30 staffers short for the first six months of COVID-19, the sheriff’s office never experienced a lapse of service to the community.
“We continued to do our due diligence. We never had a break in service. We may have slacked up some on minor calls, but we never had a break in service to this community,” he said.
COVID took its toll on the community and deputies, who had to learn to take care of each other.
“The suicide rate skyrocketed. It was at an all-time high in this country,” and this community suffered its own increase in suicides, particularly among young people, he...
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