Dowdy appointed new MBN director
Former U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division Chief John Dowdy will be the next Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics director.
Gov. Phil Bryant's office announced the appointment Wednesday. Dowdy will begin his new duties Nov. 1.
Dowdy is replacing current MBN Director Sam Owens, who is retiring.
Dowdy, a career prosecutor with 28 years at the U.S. Attorney's Office, headed the U.S. attorney's criminal division beginning in 2004. He was court appointed as the interim U.S. attorney in January 2011 until Gregory Davis, appointed by President Barack Obama, took the office in April 2012. Dowdy then returned to his job as head of the criminal division.
In May 2016, Dowdy left the U.S. attorney's office. He had worked there since 1988, when he was an intern under late U.S. Attorney George Phillips before he graduated from Mississippi College School of Law.
“John’s decades of experience as a prosecutor make him a perfect fit to lead MBN,” Bryant said in a release. “As a former law enforcement officer, I have made it a priority to rid our communities of the drug trade. John shares that commitment. I am delighted he has accepted this appointment.”
Dowdy said he will be putting priority on the increasing opioid and heroin problem in the Magnolia state. It has grown as a problem nationwide, and Mississippi is seeing an uptick as well, he said. Otherwise, he's not looking to make a lot of immediate changes to the agency.
"MBN is a well-run agency, and they have good agents on the ground who are working some good significant cases. My intention is to take a little bit of time and see where we are and what we’re doing," he said. "I want to make sure we’re allocating our resources in the most appropriate manner."
Dowdy will take the reins of the bureau just months after the agency settled a sexual harassment suit that resulted in the resignation of Deputy Director Mike Perkins.
Former U.S. Attorney James Tucker said he's known Dowdy since before he was an attorney, and that he's a great match for the job.
"John has demonstrated that he is, in the law enforcement field, as good a leader as you can have," Tucker said. "He has impeccable judgement when it comes to law enforcement matters. He's been raised in that philosophy, knows what he's doing, and will do it the right way."
Dowdy said he looks forward to continue to follow the passion for justice that has defined his career.
"My heart is in law enforcement. I have always had the greatest admiration and respect for law enforcement officers regardless of the agency they work for because I know what they do every day, and I know how they put their life on the line," he said.
Mississippi Department of Corrections commissioner Marshall Fisher, who was the executive director of MBN from 2005-2014, said Dowdy's appointment is a positive move for Mississippi. He called the fight against illegal drugs one of the most important missions in America outside of anti-terrorism.
"I think he will do well," Fisher said. "He's not only a friend, he's a consummate professional who is well respected statewide in law enforcement circles of local, state and federal agencies, and I'm really proud for him and for MBN."
MBN is an agency known for its ability to keep information out of the public eye, which given the nature of narcotics work is necessary at times.
"Balancing secrecy with public disclosure is almost an art form, and John Dowdy knows how to do that," Tucker said.
As chief of the criminal division, Dowdy served on the executive committee of the Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and oversaw dozens of narcotics investigations and prosecutions involving major drug trafficking organizations importing illegal narcotics into Mississippi with sources of supply in many cases linked to Mexican cartels.
According to the governor's office, Dowdy’s auxiliary responsibilities at the U.S. Attorney’s Office also included coordinating task forces related to Katrina fraud, public corruption and environmental crimes. He served the office’s coordinator for victims’ rights, confidential human sources and crisis management.
Dowdy, 50, has received three Special Achievement Awards from the United States Department of Justice, the Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an AUSA in 1998 and the agency’s Certificate of Appreciation for his work reviewing FBI reports related to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Owens said his retirement is effective Nov. 1 after 39 years in law enforcement. Owens said he's happy to hand off the torch, and he doesn't have any plans to pursue further endeavors in the field.
"I'm retiring. I'm going to the house," Owens said. "I'm 68 years old. I'm going home and spending time with family. I'm going to be with my grandkids."
Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.