NATCHEZ &045; Police Chief Mike Mullins has placed Officer Willie B. Jones on administrative leave with pay pending a decision by Natchez aldermen and Mayor Phillip West on Jones’ employment.

&uot;He was supposed to work Monday morning&uot; after taking an already scheduled three days off, Mullins said. &uot;But I put him on leave (Sunday) night Š pending a decision by the mayor and Board of Aldermen.&uot;

Aldermen voted 4-3 in October, with West breaking the tie, to rehire Jones, although City Attorney Walter Brown told them state law authorizes only the Civil Service Commission to rehire officers. Jones started work the next morning.

But last week, the State Board of Law Enforcement Standards and Training cancelled Jones’ certification for the next two years based on the board’s review of past conduct by Jones.

In 1997, Jones allegedly offered a fellow officer $260 not to pursue a drug charge against a relative of Jones’ then-fiance.

Jones resigned before an investigation into the matter was finished and was later arrested in the case. Jones was charged with felony obstruction of justice but pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge. The charge was expunged, or wiped from his record, late last year.

A person who been out of law enforcement for two years or more must be approved by Standards and Training to attend a refresher course prior to being re-certified.

Mayor West said Monday he was waiting on written notification of the decision from Standards and Training before he and aldermen determine how to handle Jones’ employment from here.

&uot;We have to have a meeting to determine that,&uot; Mayor West said.

When asked if he directed Mullins on whether or not to place Jones on leave, Alderman Theodore &uot;Bubber&uot; West, who chairs the Board of Aldermen’s Police Committee said &uot;I have no authorization to tell the chief how to run the department.&uot;

What is Alderman West’s recommendation on how the Board of Aldermen should deal with Jones’ employment from here? &uot;We will abide by the law,&uot; he said.

Jones could not be reached for comment.