Capitol Police Chief Wesley “Bo” Luckey will serve as the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety after current Commissioner Sean Tindell resigned to focus on his campaign for Mississippi attorney general, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Oct. 16.
“Mississippi will always back the blue,” Reeves said in a Friday press release. “Our state recognizes the tremendous sacrifices our law enforcement community and their families make to keep us safe. We will continue using every tool at our disposal to support them. Bo has done an incredible job as Chief of Capitol Police. His work has made our capital city and state safer. He has years of law enforcement experience and is the right person to lead the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. I’d like to thank Sean for admirably serving our state and wish him well in the next chapter of his career.”
The governor appointed Luckey to serve as Capitol Police chief in May 2022. As the senior criminal investigator in the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office for 10 years, he worked closely in the Human Trafficking Unit and the Consumer Protection Division. The new commissioner also served as a law enforcement officer with the Brandon Police Department, Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
Luckey earned his Juris Doctor from the Mississippi Christian University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi Christian University.
As the Capitol Police chief, Luckey led his team through the expansion of the state police agency, which patrols state government buildings in Jackson, including the Mississippi Capitol Building.
Reeves signed House Bill 1020 into law in April 2023 to extend the jurisdiction of DPS which oversees the Capitol Police Department, over Jackson’s Capitol Complex Improvement District.
That law lengthened the department’s footprint further north toward Northside Drive and south toward Raymond Road. The CCID initially included downtown Jackson, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson State University and the Fondren neighborhood.
Within the year after the department expanded its jurisdiction, Capitol Police officers shot four people in the commission of different traffic stops—including 25-year-old Jaylen Lewis.
In 2025, three years after Lewis died following a traffic stop in Jackson, his mother, Arkela Lewis, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the DPS, the Capitol Police Department and several officers, including Luckey.
The lawsuit, which is ongoing, alleges that officers Steven Randolph Frederick, Jr. and Michael Rhinewalt—who were both working as Capitol Police officers—used “excessive and unjustified force” by shooting Jaylen Lewis on Sept. 25, 2022. The lawsuit says Lewis “posed no threat to officers or the public.”
The mother said Luckey is liable because he was their supervisor at the time and that DPS and the Capitol Police are liable for constitutional violations.
The lawsuit alleges that Luckey “knew or reasonably should have known of, participated in, endorsed, condoned, and/or ratified the unconstitutional conduct of his subordinates, Defendants Steven Frederick, Jr. and Michael Rhinewalt.”
Luckey and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety have requested the federal court dismiss the claim because an identical complaint is before Hinds County Circuit Court. Frederick and Rhinewalt have denied the allegations in the suit.
In September, a Hinds County jury acquitted Frederick on manslaughter charges but deadlocked on Rhinewalt, who fired the fatal shot that killed Lewis.
“I am grateful for (Reeves’) trust and the opportunity to continue serving the people of Mississippi,” Luckey said in an Oct. 16 press release. “It has been a privilege to serve as Chief of Capitol Police alongside such dedicated law enforcement professionals. I am proud of what we have accomplished together and grateful for the relationships built along the way. I look forward to this next chapter and remain committed to serving Mississippi with humility, dedication, and a steadfast commitment to public safety.”
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation—a division under DPS—investigates any shooting in which the Capitol Police Department is involved. MBI will now report to Luckney as commissioner.
Tindell will assist with the transition of power until Nov. 30. The governor has not yet announced who will serve as the new Capitol police chief.
On Aug. 17, Tindell announced his intention to run for attorney general in the 2027 election, saying he would soon resign from DPS to focus on his campaign.
“It has been my professional honor to serve as Commissioner of Public Safety for the State of Mississippi,” he said in the Oct. 16 press release. “I’ve had the privilege of working with many great public servants over the last six years, and I’m humbled by the trust Governor Reeves placed in me to lead such a historic agency. Chief Luckey has led Capitol Police to a level that has exceeded everyone’s expectations, and I’m confident he will continue that success as the next Commissioner of Public Safety. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together and look forward to the opportunity to serve the people of Mississippi in other capacities in the future.”
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