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A Mississippi House committee, which met Thursday to discuss crime in the capital city, issued a subpoena to Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba ordering him to appear at their next hearing on Nov. 17.
Lumumba had been invited to speak at Thursday’s hearing, but on Wednesday he informed House Judicial B Committee Chair Nick Bain, R-Corinth, that he was sick and would not be attending.
Earlier in the week, Lumumba was absent from Tuesday’s city council meeting, also citing illness, nor was he at a Moral Monday rally held the day before — after having been present at the previous rally two weeks earlier.
Bain said he received an email Wednesday, after Lumumba had personally told him he wasn’t going to be there, that said Jackson Police Chief James Davis would also not be attending.
“Everybody that is on the agenda was confirmed to be here as late as Friday of last week,” Bain said. “They did not offer us a representative on their behalf to come and talk to us, and as such we don’t know where the city of Jackson, the mayor or the police department, what their position is on crime in Jackson. “
Bain said the state wants to help the city, but it needs participation from city leadership.
“It is imperative, and it is going to be noted today, that the state of Mississippi stands willing and ready to help the city of Jackson,” Bain said. “So, with that said, we’re going to issue a subpoena to both of them.”
However, Davis later walked in as the hearing was ongoing, took a seat next to representatives and ultimately did testify. When he testified, he said he was working on a homicide case before he arrived.
“Before I came here, I was dealing with a homicide where a kid got a gun and shot another kid. And many of our homicides in the city of Jackson, it’s interpersonal. Many of these homicides, it’s very hard to predict or prevent because it’s happening between two people (who) don’t know how to resolve their issues without pulling out a gun,” Davis said.
Others who testified included Hinds County Sherriff Tyree Jones, Capital Police Chief Bo Luckey, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, State Public Defender Andre de Gruy, Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Randolph and John Gomez, of Downtown Jackson Partners.
As the hearing began, Bain explained why he feels it is so important to address crime issues in Jackson.
“Now, people may ask why are we doing this? Well, this is a problem for Mississippi, not just for Jackson, but for the entire state. Now I live in Corinth, Mississippi. As y’all know, I drive further than any member of the legislature for the rest of the year. I’m four hours away. But Jackson is a part of me, and I’m a part of Jackson,” Bain said. “I went to law school here. I worked here. I had my first job as a lawyer just a few blocks away in the old Heritage Building. I am a part of Jackson.
My daughter was born here. I have for the past twelve years been a member of this body and of those twelve years, as you know, three months of the year I’m here. So, over three years of my life I’ve been down here at this body. My youngest son is nine years old, so that’s one third of his life I’ve spent right here. Jackson is near and dear to my heart. Jackson is my second home.”
Jones testified first, with much of his comments focusing on those in pre-trial detainment in the Hinds County Detention Center. Jones said there are individuals who have been held in the facility for as long as 10 years and still have not seen their cases go to trial. The sheriff estimated that more than half of those individuals have mental health issues. Later, Owens testified that many of the individuals who have been in the detention center for long periods of time are awaiting mental evaluation before their case can go to trial, but backlogs in the mental evaluation process have led to delays.
Davis laid out a number of points to the representatives. He said that crime is on the rise nationally, not just in Jackson, and that his officers are doing their jobs, but they need more help. He also said that when residents lose faith in the justice system, there can be significant consequences.
“We deal with a lot, and like other cities, major cities across America, we are seeing a surge in violent crime all across America, not just Jackson, Mississippi,” Davis said. “When the justice system is disturbed or broken, what you start seeing across the streets is street justice.”
Davis also called for the creation of a “capital city crime lab” which would serve law enforcement in Jackson, including the Jackson Police Department and Hinds County Sherriff’s Office. The state crime lab has seen significant backlogs which have delayed policework, and lead to more crime, Davis said. He hopes the creation of a local lab would take some of the load off of the state’s lab, helping not just Jackson but also law enforcement in other areas.
“Anytime a major city is faced with obstacles of not able to put people in jail — having to depend on the state crime lab for evidence to prosecute a case, creating a bottleneck — a lot of individuals that should be in jail are out on the streets. The communities see it. Law enforcement see it. When law enforcement apprehends someone, catch them for a crime, and you have to wait to be prosecuted, then these individuals are out on the street committing more crime,” Davis said.
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