(The Center Square) – Six years after a Louisiana police officer was fatally shot during a traffic stop, his police chief has been arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars donated to the officer's family.
Mangham Police Chief Perry Fleming, 68, was arrested Monday alongside former Assistant Chief Dakota McKinney, 32, following a six-month investigation that also uncovered the alleged destruction of public police records, according to Attorney General Liz Murrill's office.
Officer Marshall Lee Waters Jr., 49, was shot during a traffic stop on Oct. 17, 2020, and died from his injuries on Nov. 5, 2020. Fleming was serving as police chief at the time.
According to investigators, seven checks totaling more than $6,400 were donated by law enforcement organizations and individuals to support the fallen officer's family. The checks were deposited into a beneficiary account opened by Fleming in the deceased officer's name.
The officer's family, however, told investigators they were unaware of the account and had never received any of the money, according to the attorney general's office.
Instead, investigators allege Fleming used $1,844.61 from the account to cover airfare, lodging, meals and merchandise during a trip to Washington in October 2021 for National Police Week. It is unclear how the rest of the stolen donations were used.
The fallen officer's three adult children attended the same memorial service honoring their father but paid their own expenses, according to investigators. The investigation began in April 2026 after elected officials in Mangham requested state assistance over concerns about potential criminal activity within the police department.
During the investigation, agents also uncovered evidence that Fleming and McKinney allegedly destroyed public records stored on department computers, including police reports, arrest records and warrants. A forensic examination revealed that documents had been transferred to an external storage device before being deleted from a department computer.
Surveillance footage also captured Fleming removing a town-owned computer from the police department and returning it several days later after it had been reset to factory settings, erasing its stored data, according to the attorney general's office.
Investigators allege McKinney participated in a separate effort to destroy records by transporting another department computer in a public vehicle to an information technology vendor, who unknowingly erased the files at McKinney's request.
Fleming faces one count each of felony theft and money laundering, along with two counts each of injuring public records, obstruction of justice, criminal conspiracy and malfeasance in office.
McKinney faces one count each of injuring public records, obstruction of justice and malfeasance in office, along with two counts of criminal conspiracy.
Both men were booked into the Richland Parish Detention Center on Monday. Fleming's bond was set at $5,500, while McKinney's was set at $2,500.
"One of our most solemn duties is honoring our fallen officers and helping look after their families," Murrill said in a statement. "The Chief and the former Assistant have a lot to answer for."