Officer(s) Involved: Sardis, Mississippi police officer Amaris Howard.
Synopsis: The Panola County Sheriff’s Office said they got a tip earlier this month officer Howard had been involved with misconduct involving juveniles. Deputies arrested Howard on 24 March 2025.
In a Facebook post on 14 March 2025, the Sardis Police Department introduced Howard as one of its newest certified officers. The Sardis Police Department said it couldn’t comment about the arrest or Howard’s job status because the case is still under investigation.
The Panola County Sheriff’s Office said Howard was charged with three counts of enticement of a child to produce a visual depiction of sexual content, but isn’t releasing any other details about the case.
“I feel like it wasn’t real. I feel like he was targeted,” one woman, who says she knows Howard personally, said. She does not want to be identified for safety reasons.
She said Howard is very involved in the Sardis community, and she believes there’s more to the story. “He’s worked in so many divisions in our community. Like he helps with the community fire department, police department. He’s done so much and he’s an inspiration,” she said.
“It’s surprising. Honestly, I would not think that, because they let him be a police officer,” Sardis resident Mykha Shoote said. “He was just a silent person. So you would not think of that at all.”
Other members of the community said they hoped the police department does more research before hiring officers. “Make sure they do a background check and check their phones before they make them police officers,” Shoote said.
Outcome: At time of publication, no additional information could be found.
