Mississippi lawmakers voted this week to give more power to a state police agency that has come under criticism for shooting four people in the city of Jackson since last summer.
The expansion of the Mississippi Capitol Police to patrol all of Jackson was a centerpiece of efforts by mostly white Republican state officials to exert more control over law enforcement in the majority-Black, Democrat-led capital.
The measure was approved by the state Senate on Thursday and the state House of Representatives on Friday over objections from Jackson lawmakers and now goes to Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican. A second, related measure that also passed this week creates a temporary court system outside of city control — with judges appointed by the state Supreme Court chief justice and prosecutors appointed by the state attorney general — that would handle low-level cases in a portion of the city known as the Capitol Complex Improvement District.
“I believe it’s the right thing to provide protection from criminal activity and help the city of Jackson and it is my hope and prayer that this bill will assist,” said state Rep. Trey Lamar, a Republican who represents a northern Mississippi district and an author of the bill that creates the new court.
State Sen. John Horhn, a Black Democrat from Jackson who has expressed support for the Capitol Police, said he agrees with the need to address the city’s crime problem. “But the way this looks says something else,” he told his colleagues on Thursday. “And it plays right into the old stereotypical notions the rest of the country has about Mississippi.”
Reeves’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bills’ proponents said they were trying to help Jackson deal with record spikes in killings and an overburdened court system. Some residents have welcomed the Capitol Police since it began patrolling parts of Jackson beyond state buildings last summer, saying the city needs more police…
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