The man who described himself on video as “the only chief of police in Lumberton that likes to smoke weed” is now out of a job after that video, which indeed shows him admittedly smoking marijuana, was shown on a local television station.
Lumberton, Mississippi, Police Chief Shane Flynt had been suspended after the video emerged, and on Tuesday, the Lumberton Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to accept his resignation.
It’s unclear when the video was recorded, although Christmas music can at times be heard in the background, and the red-eyed police chief makes a reference to a red-nosed reindeer.
In a statement on Facebook, Flynt said that his wife had filmed him inside his home and that he had made “a huge mistake.”
Under Mississippi law, if Flynt had been caught with the weed he was smoking, he would not have been charged with a criminal offense, but would have faced a civil violation and a $250 ticket. Mississippi has decriminalized the possession of up to 30 grams. Possession of any amount greater than 30 grams (a little more than an ounce), is a felony.
Here’s the video from WDAM-TV:
credit:alternet.org