Police Chief Mike De Nardo of Bay St. Louis, Ms., committed suicide because he was “reeling from the death of his mother,” was in a state of personal grief and also was dealing with an investigation, said Mayor Les Fillingame, reports the Jackson (Ms.) Clarion-Ledger.
Fillingame said that the “the Sheriff’s Office brought forward some evidence they had gotten on a tip that alluded to something that happened outside the city that involved Mike De Nardo.” The mayor then suspended the police chief. Fillingame did not disclose details of the charges. De Nardo shot himself in front of the police department. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as shocked in my life,” Fillingame said, saying De Nardo “was a tremendous chief with a strong legacy, even a little larger than life.”