Jackson residents want safer streets

• Citizens gathered recently to express their concerns to the capital city’s Police Chief.

Since the beginning of the year, Jackson has had 36 reported shootings, down by half from last year at this time, Police Chief Joseph Wade told a crowd of nearly 100 residents attending a community meeting Tuesday night who were demanding safer streets.

Even with 50 percent fewer shootings, residents said Jackson’s streets remain dangerous and they want action, not talk.

While many of the 15 or so speakers began with how they appreciate law enforcement, the majority asked if an increased presence might help combat the violence in certain Jackson neighborhoods. Speakers were not required to give their names.

One man said his neighborhood is getting so violent, he wants to know if homeowners “have to walk around with our guns just to keep our neighborhoods safe.”

After the meeting, Doris Jackson, an 86-year-old church deaconess, said she remembers the early 2020s, when the capital city was the nation’s deadliest city. She remembers being afraid to go outside.

“There was gunfire everywhere,” she said. “I don’t want to return to that.”

Several people mentioned the St. Patrick’s Day shooting that killed one and injured multiple others. In March, a shooting ended with one fatality and wounded seven more.

Kevin Baylor, a 26-year-old landscaper, echoed the deaconess’s comments, saying he lost two friends during the early 2020s. He said the issue with Jackson is that residents of certain neighborhoods do not trust or respect law enforcement. Younger residents, Baylor said, will post on social media about the shootings before talking with the police.

Baylor’s point was backed up by a story Chief Wade told during the hour-long meeting. Wade started the story by saying policing is a challenge, and he recognizes community fears.

Recently, the chief said he was sitting in his office, talking with a 15-year-old male wearing a hoodie. Wade asked the young man to remove the hood. As both sat there for a while, Wade recalled noticing the young man was getting upset. Then, the young looked at the chief and said, “Bruh, you’re just trying to get me to snitch. I ain’t no snitch.”

“That’s what we’re dealing with in our community, the ones you see out there walking around,” Wade said, noting that snitching is not generational, but societal.

However, law enforcement said they were encouraged to see the room filled with concerned citizens.

“It shows that you care about your community. You care about what happens in that community,” said a representative from the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office.

“We care about our loved ones, we don’t want them shot,” whispered a middle-aged woman to the person sitting beside her.

The meeting was arranged by Jackson City Ward 4 Council member Brian Grizzel after several recent shootouts between groups of young men. Gunfire has entered homes and cars, threatening the lives of innocent bystanders. Earlier this week, five young men, aged 18 to 22, were arrested in connection with one of those shootings.

Capital Police Chief Bo Luckey said his department is expanding its patrol area. He told attendees that in the last legislative session, lawmakers voted to give authority to the department to go outside the Capitol Complex Improvement District to investigate criminal activity.

“What’s going on is we’re running warrants and hitting a lot of houses that are outside the CCID. We’re taking down a lot of the criminal element that doesn’t reside in our district,” Luckey said.