Citizens for Transparency in Lauderdale County MS

Citizens for Transparency in Lauderdale County MS Fighting for truth and accountability in Lauderdale county,Ms.Exposing misconduct

Flock Cameras: Technology Can Solve Crimes—But It Also Requires AccountabilityLicense plate reader (LPR) systems like Fl...
06/24/2026

Flock Cameras: Technology Can Solve Crimes—But It Also Requires Accountability

License plate reader (LPR) systems like Flock Safety have helped law enforcement recover stolen vehicles, locate missing persons, and identify suspects in criminal investigations. Those are legitimate public safety benefits.

However, the technology also raises important questions about privacy, oversight, and accountability.

Recent news from Cherokee County, Georgia, shows why those questions matter. Two sheriff’s supervisors were arrested after investigators alleged they improperly accessed the agency’s license plate reader system for personal reasons.

No technology is immune from misuse. That’s why strong policies and oversight are just as important as the technology itself.

Some reasonable questions every community should ask include:

• Who is authorized to search the system?
• Are all searches logged and audited?
• How long is data retained?
• Can the information be shared with other agencies?
• What disciplinary action is taken for misuse?
• How are citizens protected from unauthorized access?

These aren’t anti-law enforcement questions. They are accountability questions.

Here in Lauderdale County, public financial records show the county has invested taxpayer dollars in the Flock Safety system. Public records requests have been submitted seeking information about the policies governing its use, and those requests are currently the subject of two complaints pending before the Mississippi Ethics Commission.

Transparency and public safety are not opposing goals. In fact, clear policies and public oversight help build trust in law enforcement and ensure powerful technology is used only for its intended purpose.

What are your thoughts? Should agencies using license plate reader technology make their policies and safeguards available to the public?
Jamie Parttridge Fred Chambliss Frankie Hilburn Leon Seals Lauderdale County, MS Sheriff's Office Lauderdale County MS

Public Records or Investigative Records?One of the reasons I filed a complaint with the Mississippi Ethics Commission is...
06/24/2026

Public Records or Investigative Records?

One of the reasons I filed a complaint with the Mississippi Ethics Commission is because I disagree with how Lauderdale County applied the Public Records Act to my request for Flock camera locations.

The county denied the request by stating that the records are “investigative.”

Here’s why I believe that question deserves review.

These cameras are mounted on public roads and intersections. Anyone can drive past them and see them. In fact, citizens have already identified and mapped many of these cameras themselves using apps like DeFlock.

My request did not seek:

* criminal investigations,
* search histories,
* license plate data,
* alerts,
* or investigative case files.

It sought administrative records identifying where publicly funded equipment has been deployed.

The county has also already publicly disclosed:

* the vendor (Flock Safety),
* the number of cameras (18),
* the contract term,
* and the annual cost through its own financial records.

Whether those deployment records should legally be treated as investigative records is now one of the questions before the Mississippi Ethics Commission.

This isn’t about opposing law enforcement or preventing the use of technology to solve crimes.

It’s about determining where the line is between legitimate investigative information and the public’s right to know how taxpayer-funded infrastructure is being deployed.
Jamie Parttridge Fred Chambliss Frankie Hilburn Lauderdale County, MS Sheriff's Office Lauderdale County MS

A few weeks ago, I submitted a public records request asking whether Lauderdale County recorded Board of Supervisors mee...
05/30/2026

A few weeks ago, I submitted a public records request asking whether Lauderdale County recorded Board of Supervisors meetings.

In response, I was provided a video recording of a recent Board meeting and charged $10 for the copy. After reviewing the video, I noticed there was no audio.

I followed up and asked whether the video was supposed to have sound. I was then informed that the footage came from security cameras that were not equipped with audio recording capabilities and that the security footage was the only recording the county had of Board meetings.

Wanting to better understand the situation, I requested additional information about the Board room's audio/video capabilities.

County Administrator Chris Lafferty has now clarified that the Board room does, in fact, contain an AV system capable of recording audio and supporting livestreaming. He also confirmed that if the audio were connected, Board meetings could be broadcasted and recorded with both sound and video.

According to the county, the microphones are not connected to the recording system, and using the system would require someone to monitor the equipment and ensure executive sessions are not accidentally recorded. Because recording Board meetings is not required by state law, the county has chosen not to use the system for that purpose.

To be clear, the issue is not whether the technology exists. The county has confirmed that it does.

The issue is that Lauderdale County currently relies on silent security camera footage as the only recording of public Board meetings, despite having the capability to record and livestream those meetings with audio and video.

Citizens can decide for themselves whether that level of transparency is appropriate in a modern county government.
Lauderdale County MS Jamie Parttridge Fred Chambliss Frankie Hilburn

05/29/2026

The Mississippi Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a Meridian man who suffered severe injuries when a dead tree fell onto his vehicle from state-owned property, reversing a […]

Let me explain why so many citizens are frustrated right now.I filed a Notice of Claim against Lauderdale County a while...
05/28/2026

Let me explain why so many citizens are frustrated right now.

I filed a Notice of Claim against Lauderdale County a while back. But here’s the part people need to understand

A Notice of Claim is NOT a filed lawsuit.

At this moment, there is technically no active “Clearman v. Lauderdale County” case pending in court.

No judge.
No discovery.
No active litigation. Yet.

Yet somehow, basic citizen questions are already being treated like high-level adversarial legal warfare.

And what exactly were we asking for?

Not litigation strategy.
Not confidential records.
Not privileged attorney communications.

We asked for POLICY.

Simple public policy questions involving taxpayer-funded government operations and county vehicles.

That’s it.

We submitted public records requests asking whether there were written policies governing deputies taking county vehicles outside the county while off duty.

The response?
After charging us money for the request, we were told there were supposedly “no responsive documents.”

But apparently there WAS enough concern for:
outside counsel,
formal complaint numbers,
Board authorization,
extension requests,
legal positioning,
procedural delays,
and taxpayer-funded attorneys to become involved.

Why?

Why does asking basic policy questions suddenly require lawyers?

Why are citizens being treated like adversaries for participating in local government?

I attended the May 18 Board meeting and used my legally allotted five minutes exactly as citizens are entitled to do. I stood face to face with elected officials and expressed my grievances directly, respectfully, and publicly.

I did not threaten anyone.
I did not ask about litigation strategy or private legal matters.
As a matter of fact I only spoke on the data center concerns…

I only asked questions about transparency and accountability.

The entire interaction is on video.

Citizens are legally allowed to:
attend Board meetings,
criticize elected officials,
request public records,
ask uncomfortable questions,
and publicly express concerns about their government.

That is not harassment.
That is not intimidation.
That is civic participation protected by the Constitution.

But when communication suddenly stops, emails go unanswered from supervisors, officials block citizens on social media, attorneys are hired to answer simple questions, and every interaction becomes layered in bureaucracy and legal maneuvering people notice.

And taxpayers should notice too, because taxpayers are funding all of it.

The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors and the County Attorney should explain why ordinary policy questions from citizens now appear to require legal shielding and formal damage control.

Transparency should not feel adversarial.

The documents speak for themselves.





PUBLIC RECORDS QUESTION: WHAT EXACTLY WAS I CHARGED FOR?I submitted a narrow public records request to the Lauderdale Co...
05/28/2026

PUBLIC RECORDS QUESTION: WHAT EXACTLY WAS I CHARGED FOR?

I submitted a narrow public records request to the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department regarding written vehicle use policies.

On May 15, I received a written response stating that:
- a lieutenant was identified as “the lowest paid staff member capable” of locating the records,
- the hourly rate would be $27.20 per hour,
- and the request would take 1–2 hours to complete.

I paid the fee.

After the request was processed, county attorney Lee Thaggard later responded in writing that:

“there is no document which is responsive to your narrow request.”

So here is the reasonable public question:

If no responsive document existed, what exactly was the lieutenant spending billable time searching for?

This is not an attack on law enforcement. This is about accountability, transparency, and proper handling of taxpayer-funded public records requests.

The Mississippi Public Records Act allows agencies to recover actual costs, but it also states requests should be fulfilled by the lowest paid competent employee capable of performing the task.

Citizens have a right to ask questions when:
- fees are charged,
- delays occur,
- and the final answer contradicts the original justification for the charge.

The documents speak for themselves.

What a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive..

Lauderdale County, MS Sheriff's Office Lauderdale County MSJamie Parttridge Fred Chambliss Leon Seals

05/20/2026

Concerns over data center projects drew public criticism at Monday’s meeting of the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, where residents questioned transparency, environmental impacts and long-term benefits of the project. […]

05/18/2026

Several citizens stood up today to speak about the proposed data center here in Meridian.

We had technical difficulties with our livestream during the meeting, so I’m posting the full recording now. Apologies for the delay.

Thank you to everyone who showed up, spoke out, and participated in the discussion. Regardless of where people stand on the issue, citizens deserve transparency, open dialogue, and the opportunity to be heard.

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Meridian, MS

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