Suspended KPD Investigator Greg Collins will return to the force as a lieutenant in the next few weeks, according to Mayor Jimmy Cockroft. Chief Herbert Dew is currently looking at scheduling that will have Collins resume duty on either May 31 or June 3.
Returning at the lower rank of lieutenant — one step below his prior investigator position (equivalent to a captain) — means Collins' pay will be reduced to $16.79 per hour.
Cockroft and Dew met with Collins Tuesday afternoon to determine whether and in what role Collins could potentially return to the force after the Board of Aldermen authorized them to do so during a 40-minute executive session of the board Monday night.
“We feel like what we’ve done is fair and equitable to everyone. I think me and the chief knew from the get-go that he wasn’t guilty of what he was accused of, but we had to let the case play out,” said Cockroft late Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m glad this is behind Greg and his family. We’ll be glad to have him back and I think he is glad to be back,” he said.
Collins’ return comes after the DeSoto County grand jury (17th Circuit Court) declined to indict him on charges of sexual battery on May 8, five months to the day from when a woman filed a complaint against him with the Olive Branch Police Department (OBPD) on Dec. 8, 2018.
Collins and five other Kosciusko officers were in Olive Branch from the prior Thursday through that Saturday for Field Force Operations training offered by the federal Department of Homeland Security, according to Kosciusko Police Chief Herbert Dew.
Following his arrest, Collins was released on a $22,222 bond and the aldermen voted to suspend him without pay until the matter was resolved.
A spokesperson with the DeSoto County District Attorney’s Office told The Star-Herald last week that — while their office presented the case to the grand jury — the body “did not return an indictment, stating that there was not enough evidence for the case to go forward.”
