NATCHEZ, Miss. – Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said eight of his deputies have been lured to the Natchez Police Department since Lee Best became police chief a month ago.
“There are no hard feelings,” said Patten, who noted higher pay is the reason some transferred to the NPD. Meeting Monday with Adams County supervisors, Patten noted his office will continue to collaborate well with the NPD. “The sheriff’s department is not going to miss a beat,” he said.
Among the deputy sheriffs now a Natchez police officer is Shane Daugherty, who was Patten’s chief deputy. He’s now a NPD commander for Best, who was also with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office before joining the NPD in 2024. Patten said he has lost half of his command staff.
Some deputies resigned for various reasons, but “the rest of them left for money. They get paid a lot more” working for the city, Patten said.
Best, who became police chief April 1, noted recently that he’s hired nine certified law-enforcement officers as he works to improve the NPD’s patrol division by having five officers on duty per shift.
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