Officer detained for murder likely charged due to rules regarding on-duty police crimes
Published 9:12 pm Tuesday, May 21, 2019
- Matthew Kinne
A north Mississippi police officer has been arrested in connection with the slaying of a woman found dead over the weekend, authorities said Tuesday while declining to say if he’s been charged in the case.
Oxford Police Officer Matt Kinne was arrested Monday night in connection with the weekend death of 32-year-old Dominque Clayton, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Capt. Johnny Poulos said Tuesday at a news briefing with interim Oxford Police Chief Matt McCutcheon.
But he declined to elaborate on the slaying or whether Kinne had been charged.
Kinne was jailed in a neighboring county. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he has seen a judge, has a lawyer or has been given bail.
McCutcheon and Poulos didn’t respond to messages and phone calls seeking comment.
At the briefing, McCutcheon said Clayton was found dead on Sunday in her home and police learned soon afterward that she was “possibly involved” with Kinne, prompting them to call in state investigators.
Authorities haven’t released a cause of death, and McCutcheon declined to elaborate on the manner of death or other details, saying he would answer questions at a future time.
In Mississippi, before police officers, teachers and certain other people can be arrested for crimes committed while they are on duty, a prosecutor is supposed to present evidence of probable cause to a judge.
Court system spokeswoman Beverly Kraft said a probable cause hearing is scheduled for Kinne on Wednesday afternoon in Oxford. It’s unclear if judge signed a written statement of probable cause before investigators arrested Kinne.
Shyjuan Clayton, Dominique Clayton’s sister, told reporters Tuesday that she wanted answers following Kinne’s arrest.
“We don’t want anybody to cover it up. We want the truth out. We want justice for my sister,” she said.
Kinne has been an Oxford officer for four years.
WREG-TV reported that no one answered the door at his home on the outskirts of Oxford.
The department named Kinne its mounted patrol officer of the year in January, The Oxford Eagle reported.
