Jackson Free Press

The mayor of Stonewall, a small Mississippi town just south of Meridian, said people have the wrong idea about his 1,100-person community, which has been in the national spotlight since the death of Jonathan Sanders on July 8.

Mayor Glenn Cook says "until attorneys got involved" in the aftermath of the incident between Sanders and white part-time officer Kevin Herrington, people in Stonewall were willing to patiently await the outcome of the investigation that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was conducting.

"If I was an outsider and I just read a story from some of the local news agencies and things that people have posted (online), I would think we were back in the '60s—that's not the case in Stonewall," he told the Jackson Free Press by phone on Wednesday.

However, the Mississippi branch of the NAACP wants "a full and independent investigation at the local, state and possibly federal levels" of the Stonewall Police Department as a result of the altercation between Sanders and Herrington.

In a statement, the state NAACP said the probe should include a background check, a mental health evaluation and drug testing of Herrington because the incident, according to the NAACP, "begs the question of whether or not the officer's aggression was driven by medical factors, such as steroid abuse, or other chemical sources."

In a visit to Stonewall last week, several African American residents of Stonewall who knew both Sanders and Herrington told the Jackson Free Press that Herrington, a martial arts enthusiast, had bulked up recently.

Stonewall Police Chief Michael Street has told residents that Herrington was required to take a drug test after Sanders' death. Asked whether he was tested for steroids, Street told the Associated Press that he didn't know.

"The NAACP urges all law enforcement officials to make sure that officers are not using anabolic steroids or other potentially mood-altering medications or substances while on the job," the NAACP said in a statement. "The safety of citizens must be a priority."

Cook said, "There is safety and security for everyone in Stonewall," and that he believes his office is approachable. "Most the people in this town know me well enough to think they can approach me to talk about anyone."

He added, "I've not had one person come to my office to sit down with me and speak to me since the incident."

R.L. Nave contributed to this story.