BAY ST. LOUIS, MISSISSIPPI – Police Chief Mike DeNardo died after shooting himself in the chest Thursday afternoon, shortly after leaving the department.
DeNardo reportedly died at a hospital after being rushed from outside of the police department, where he shot himself about 3 p.m.
According to Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam, DeNardo turned in all his city-owned belongings shortly before his death. Adam added he believed the shooting was intentional.
Mayor Les Fillingame said the chief was being put on indefinite suspension beginning Thursday per advice from the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, who was investigating Cheif DeNardo. The mayor would not say what the probe was for but said it was a personal matter, not professional. Mayor Fillingame said he was also under the impression the matter would be resolved.
DeNardo had been chief of police in Bay St. Louis since November 2010, according to the Bay St. Louis Police Department's website. He joined the department in 2004.
Before that he was a SWAT commander with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, working with that office from 1984 to 2003.