A federal lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Mississippi’s Eastern Division alleges former Columbia Police Department Desk Sgt. Delta Ward violated the rights of two individuals while committing sexual assault on them — a claim that Ward vehemently denies.
The civil lawsuit alleges that Ginger Upton and Sarah Beach were pulled over by former CPD Officer James “Jamie” Moulds on Jan. 30, 2024 because “he could not see if the occupants were wearing their seatbelts.”
The suit further alleges that after Moulds verified the occupants were wearing seatbelts, he continued to question the occupants. When other officers arrived on scene, Upton, Beach and two male occupants were asked to step out of the vehicle for a vehicle search to be conducted.
During the search of the vehicle, “a very small amount of marijuana (or a “roach”) was discovered in the vehicle,” the lawsuit states. One of the male occupants admitted to smoking the marijuana the day before in the car, according to the lawsuit.
After Upton voiced her opinion about there being “bad cops” on the police force, according to the suit, one of the officers asked for a female officer to arrive on scene.
Ward, who resigned in May for reasons unrelated to this incident, allegedly arrived on scene and “approached (Upton and Beach) while placing latex gloves upon her hands and popping them against her wrists in an intimidating and threatening manner,” which frightened Upton and Beach, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit then alleges Ward performed an “illegal and unauthorized roadside body-cavity search in plain view of the public.” The lawsuit claims Ward placed her fingers around and inside the genitals of both of the plaintiffs in full view of the public and did not change her gloves in between the two searches. The lawsuit claims neither search was consented to by Upton or Beach.
In a statement to the C-P, Ward countered this claim and stated that she performed a “’palm down’ search of the undergarment, which is the standard technique used by law enforcement to minimize these types of accusations.” She added the “palm down” technique is the only technique she has ever used during a search.
Ward also stated that she discarded the pair of gloves used during the search of Upton and put on a new set of gloves for the search of Beach. She also confirmed that no contraband was found on either individual.
The incident was investigated internally and reviewed by the mayor and Columbia Board of Aldermen, according to Ward’s statement.
“I was told that I was in compliance with the law and was cleared of wrongdoing,” Ward said in her statement. “Anyone who assumes that I acted outside of professionalism is misinformed, and in some recent posts, it seems malicious. I am an officer of integrity, and I have served my community well.”
The defendants in the lawsuit are Moulds, Ward, former Police Chief Michael Kelly, the City of Columbia, former CPD Lt. Chris Bush, former Crime Suppression Commander Lance Poirer and Officer Austin Riels. Seth Blackmon was also named in the lawsuit, but he has not worked for the CPD in seven years.
The C-P’s investigation into the CPD following the resignation of Kelly has also revealed Moulds illegally worked for the CPD after his certification lapsed during the time of the alleged incident.
Moulds completed self-sponsored training at the Southern Regional Public Safety Institute in 2013 and received his BLEOST certification, according to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety’s Office of Law Enforcement Standards & Training. However, Moulds was out of law enforcement for more than five years, rendering his certification invalid. He would have needed to complete a 200-hour refresher course to validate his certification once again.
Moulds was hired by the Columbia Police Department on Jan. 2, 2024, and former Columbia Police Chief Michael Kelly was notified on Feb. 2, 2024 that Moulds needed to complete the refresher course, which did not occur. Kelly was notified by Donna Rogers Perkins of the Office of Law Enforcement Standards & Training on Aug. 8, 2024 that Moulds must be reassigned to a non-law enforcement position until he could complete the training or be terminated.
Moulds was also employed by the Magee and Collins police departments, and neither reported his employment to the Office of Law Enforcement Standards & Training.
Moulds was among the resignations announced at the Columbia Board of Aldermen’s meeting Aug. 20, effective Aug. 16. However, Rogers Perkins informed the C-P his employment ended Aug. 13.
The C-P has made repeated attempts to contact Mayor Justin McKenzie, who has not responded to phone calls or text messages and did not return a message left for him at City Hall. The C-P also attempted to speak with City Attorney Lawrence Hahn Monday afternoon, but he did not respond to a message left for him either.
On Monday morning, the C-P filed a Public Records request and a Freedom of Information Act request for the release or viewing of body camera footage of the reported incident. 
