Executive Director of the Mississippi Ethics Commission Tom Hood said his department has no authority to intervene into a county supervisor’s recent arrest or to take action regarding behavior that was caught on tape outside a local strip club.

“The ethics and government law only relates to economic conflicts of interest and generally does not cover personal conduct,” Hood said.

With the recent arrest of Boswell and news coverage of other issues involving his conduct, some citizens have wondered if he may be facing possible repercussions outside of his disorderly conduct charge from last Sunday.

Hood said any action against District 5 Supervisor Ray Boswell would have to be taken by his constituents at the ballot box.

Hood said there is some language in the Mississippi Code of 1972 about an elected official who is arrested for a felony, but he said Boswell’s misdemeanor arrest for disorderly conduct on Dec. 3 would most likely not qualify to have him removed from office.

Boswell was arrested in Philadelphia at about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday for disorderly conduct. Philadelphia Police Chief Richard Sistrunk said the arrest came after a lady-friend of Boswell’s was pulled over twice and twice cited for speeding.

He said Boswell got out of his car and approached the officer during the stop.

Boswell is scheduled for an arraignment on Dec. 18, where he can choose to plead guilty or not guilty to the charge.

On Tuesday The Meridian Star obtained a police video that shows the supervisor being escorted out of JJ’s on Russell Drive on Sept. 5, 2005 — one week after Hurricane Katrina.

On the tape, Boswell appears to be intoxicated and can be heard using racial slurs and profanity. That incident did not lead to an arrest.

Board of Supervisors President Craig Hitt said last week he was unaware of any measures that could be taken to remove Boswell from office due to his arrest or his conduct on the video. Like Hood, Hitt said it’s up to the voters to decide Boswell’s fate.

“Everybody needs to look at that on their own and decide if that’s the way elected officials should conduct themselves,” Hitt said.