McComb police officer Steve Powell is appealing his demotion from captain to lieutenant that stemmed from an altercation last month at the Tortilla Soup restaurant on Anna Drive.
But there were differences of opinion on who’s at fault for the disturbance.
Police Chief Garland Ward confirmed he demoted Powell because of the June 15 incident.
Ward said Powell has filed an appeal to the McComb Civil Service Commission, but a date for the hearing has not been determined.
“Being that Capt. Powell has appealed his stuff to the Civil Service, I have no comment at this,” Ward said.
Powell could not be reached for comment Friday. However, Tortilla Soup restaurant manager Kelly Diaz gave her account of the incident between Powell and Bryan Bellipanni.
Diaz said she believes Powell did not do anything wrong and was just trying to stop Bellipanni from creating a disturbance.
“Tortilla Soup did press charges of disturbance of the peace,” Diaz said.
Referring to Bellipanni, she said, “He was very loud, causing commotion, disturbing a lot of customers.
“I was coming out of the kitchen. I heard a lot of commotion. Mr. Bellipanni was being very, very loud and he threatened Mr. Powell and his wife.
“I heard it from the kitchen. Coming out of the kitchen from the side, a server told me that there was commotion going on, that I needed to go see what was going on.
“I go to see what’s going and I see Mr. Powell has him pinned on the ground. I call the cops because he has him on the ground until the cops arrive.”
Diaz said the police department arrived in less than two minutes and Bellipanni later pleaded guilty.
Ward said Powell’s captain position is still open upon the completion of his appeal. He did not comment on how he would handle filling the position if Powell’s demotion remains intact.
