NATCHEZ &045; Half of the supervisors and a majority of both sworn officers and civilian personnel at the Natchez Police Department are black.

That’s according to a listing of personnel assignments requested from the department Wednesday by The Natchez Democrat.

In Tuesday’s aldermen meeting, members of Natchez’s NAACP chapter asked Tuesday for city officials to take action against Police Chief Mike Mullins, saying he has treated black employees unfairly.

The Rev. Leon Howard, chairman of the NAACP chapter’s Negotiating Committee, said that of several people promoted in the Police Department, only one was black, and that every supervisor of police officers &uot;on the street&uot; is white.

First, some background on the hiring of officers: those seeking to be promoted undergo a battery of tests from national companies that review the tests to weed out any racial or other bias.

Candidates are then interviewed by a committee comprised of the Civil Service Commission &045; two black members, one white &045; the police chief, the fire chief and the commission secretary, for three black and three white interviewers.

Candidates passing the tests and the interview process are placed on a list of those eligible for the promotion in question. And the police chief chooses those to promote in order from that list, which is ranked according to interview scores, Mullins said.

&uot;I submitted a personnel plan in February that would allow two more black officers to be promoted, but I’m still waiting for approval from the mayor and Board of Aldermen,&uot; Mullins said.

According to figures from Mullins, five department supervisors are black and five white. But of the officers who supervise the department’s four patrol shifts, all four are white.

Mullins said that is because two black officers who were supervising patrol shifts requested to be transferred to dispatch and purchasing.

Of the department’s sworn officers, 28 are black and 22 white.

Of civilian officers, such as dispatchers, detention employees and administrative personnel, 51 are black and 24 white.

When contacted Wednesday for comment, Howard said Mullins’ figures are not true.

&uot;We want to make sure aldermen get all the facts, Š and what we brought forth (Tuesday) were not allegations. They are facts,&uot; Howard said.

Howard would not say where the NAACP chapter got the information in presented to aldermen Tuesday and would not say when the chapter might say what it wants city officials to do regarding Mullins.

&uot;I’ll get back to you on that,&uot; he said.

Meanwhile, Mullins said he maintains an open-door policy, although he said Howard had not yet discussed the NAACP’s concerns with him as of Wednesday.

&uot;I want this department to be transparent. If someone has a question, all they have to do is call, and I will discuss anything and everything with them,&uot; Mullins said.

&uot;The Police Department belongs to the people of this community, and it should be accountable to the people.&uot;