The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office is accusing a northeast Louisiana police chief of stealing money intended for the family of an officer killed in the line of duty.
Attorney General Liz Murrill says Mangham Police Chief Perry Fleming has been arrested on felony charges of theft, money laundering and destruction of public records.
Murrill alleges Fleming opened a bank account designated as a “beneficiary” account in the name of a Mangham police officer who was fatally shot during a traffic stop.
Seven checks totaling more than $6,400 were made payable to the fallen officer’s family. However, Murrill says the family never received the money.
Instead, Fleming allegedly used the funds to pay for travel to Washington, D.C., for National Police Week, according to Murrill.
Mangham Assistant Police Chief Dakota McKinney has also been arrested. He is accused of destroying public records stored on computers at the Mangham Police Department.
The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office released the following statement:
The Louisiana Bureau of Investigation (LBI) arrested Perry Fleming, Chief of Police for the Mangham Police Department, and Dakota McKinney, former Assistant Chief of Police, following an extensive investigation into alleged misconduct involving the theft of funds intended for the family of a deceased Mangham Police Officer and the destruction of public records.
Mangham Police Chief PERRY FLEMING (photo courtesy of Louisiana Attorney General’s Office)
68-year-old Mangham Police Chief Perry Fleming, of Hixson Street in Mangham, was arrested on the following charges:
• (1) count of Felony Theft
• (1) count of Money Laundering
• (2) counts of Injuring Public Records
• (2) counts of Obstruction of Justice
• (2) counts of Criminal Conspiracy
• (2) counts of Malfeasance in Office
Former Mangham Assistant Police Chief DAKOTA McKINNEY (photo courtesy of Louisiana Attorney General’s Office)
32-year-old former Assistant Police Chief Dakota McKinney, of Comeaux Road in Rayville, was arrested on the following charges:
• (1) count of Injuring Public Records
• (1) count of Obstruction of Justice
• (2) counts of Criminal Conspiracy
• (1) count of Malfeasance in Office
LBI opened a criminal investigation in April 2026 after elected officials from the Village of Mangham requested assistance regarding concerns about potential criminal conduct occurring within the police department.
During this investigation, agents discovered a financial account opened by Fleming titled as a “Beneficiary” account in the name of a former Mangham Police Officer who was killed in a line-of-duty shooting in October 2020. LBI agents discovered that various law enforcement organizations and individuals donated seven checks totaling more than $6,400, made payable to the fallen officer’s family.
The checks were deposited into the “Beneficiary” account, but the officer’s family did not receive the funds. The fallen officer’s family members said they were unaware of the account and had not received any disbursements from the purported beneficiary fund.
LBI agents subsequently discovered that Fleming used funds from the beneficiary account to finance personal travel to Washington, D.C. in October 2021 for National Police Week, including airfare, hotel lodging, meals, and merchandise purchases totaling $1,844.61. During the same event, the fallen officer’s three adult children paid their own way to attend the memorial service for their father.
As the investigation continued, agents also discovered that Fleming and McKinney had destroyed public police records stored on Mangham Police Department computers. After executing a search warrant at the Mangham Police Department, LBI personnel conducted a digital forensics examination of a department computer.
The examination revealed that police reports, arrest records, warrants, and other public documents were transferred to an external storage device and subsequently deleted from the department computer. Agents also obtained surveillance video that captured Fleming removing a town-owned computer from the police department. Fleming was also captured on video as he returned the department computer a few days later, after it had been reset to factory settings, destroying all stored data.
LBI agents also discovered that McKinney had knowingly facilitated the destruction of records on a second computer by arranging for it to be wiped through an IT vendor. McKinney was on duty as a public employee and knowingly utilized a public vehicle to transport the town computer, which he had received from Fleming to the IT vendor. McKinney subsequently caused the unsuspecting IT vendor to remove all records from the town’s computer.
LBI agents obtained arrest warrants for Fleming and McKinney, and both were subsequently arrested and booked into the Richland Parish Detention Center on October 26, 2026.
“One of our most solemn duties is honoring our fallen officers and helping look after their
families. The Chief and the former Assistant have a lot to answer for,” said AG Liz Murrill.
Fleming was issued a bond of $5,500, while McKinney was issued a $2,500 bond. The investigation remains ongoing.
*All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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