McCloud named to head BPD

By John Howell
Batesville aldermen appointed Jimmy McCloud as police chief Tuesday.
By unanimous vote in executive session, the then-deputy police chief was named to succeed Tony Jones, who had presented a letter earlier in the meeting stating that he would retire effective May 31 after serving the Batesville Police Department since Sept. 1, 1977.
McCloud had been named deputy chief in November, 2015 following the retirement of Don Province. His appointment Tuesday to the chief’s post will trigger the selection process for his replacement as deputy chief.
Following executive session, Mayor Jerry Autrey said that the city officials reached Jones on speaker phone to clarify that he was resigning from his post as chief. He will remain with the police department while he uses his accrued leave time until May 31, Autrey said.
McCloud is a 1990 graduate of South Panola High School, a 1993 graduate of the Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy and a 2003 graduate the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA. He is past president of the FBI National Academy Association’s state chapter and of the Batesville Civitan Club. McCloud and his wife, Bessie, are members of the Sardis Lake Baptist Church.