As you’ve probably seen, we at Liberal America have called out police officers who abuse their badges on numerous occasions. But a city councilman in Jackson, Mississippi has gone too far. He has actually called for the assaulting of police officers from other jurisdictions who chase misdemeanor suspects into Jackson.
Kenneth Stokes represents Ward 3 on the Jackson City Council. On Thursday, he called a press conference to express concern over a high-speed chase on Christmas Eve that started in the suburb of Richland and went through two other jurisdictions before ending in Jackson. Stokes was concerned that police from other jurisdictions are putting his constituents’ lives in danger when they chase people into Jackson who are suspected of minor offenses. He believes Jackson officials ought to get an injunction barring outside agencies from chasing misdemeanor suspects into Jackson, and is willing to foot the bill for whatever they steal if it means keeping Jackson citizens safe.
Fair enough. There’s no reason to put people in danger in order to catch suspects who have committed picayune crimes. Whatever concerns Stokes may have had, however, were wiped out by his other proposed solution to the problem–assaulting officers.
“What I suggest is we get the black leadership together, and as these jurisdictions come into Jackson we throw rocks and bricks and bottles at them. That will send a message we don’t want you in here.”
This is wrong on so many levels. As critical as we are of police misconduct and brutality, unprovoked assault on an officer for any reason is never, ever, ever acceptable. But Stokes kept digging in an interview with The (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger.
“My position is this: When you have these police officers coming from other jurisdictions and they will not respect human life, then I said we should use rocks, bricks or bottles to try to get the message over: stop endangering our children.”
Uh huh. So endangering officers by assaulting them is okay?
If Stokes got off his high horse long enough, he’d know that this was a situation where a chase was almost certainly justified. The suspect, Eric Singleton, is accused of shoplifting from the Richland Walmart, then dragging an employee and a bystander across the parking lot. This wasn’t just a case of misdemeanor theft. This was felonious assault. Sadly, though, that little detail was lost on Stokes.
Apparently it hasn’t occurred to Stokes that throwing objects at cruisers going at high speed puts them at risk for serious accidents. Madison County sheriff Randy Tucker realizes this, and let Stokes have it on Facebook.
Stokes has been deservedly kicked up, down, and sideways from across the political spectrum. Governor Phil Bryant himself weighed in on the matter.
The next day, state attorney general Jim Hood chimed in.
Stokes’ colleagues on the city council have also condemned his remarks. City council president Melvin Priester, Jr. called Stokes’ comments “indefensible,” and added that the other members of the seven-member council do not support calls for assaulting officers in this manner.
Late Sunday afternoon, Stokes claimed that the Christmas Eve chase was more evidence of racial bias from the police departments in Jackson’s suburbs. Even if that were the case, he has lost any moral authority to speak on this issue–or any issue, for that matter. Anyone who incites violent behavior by calling for assaulting officers when completely unprovoked is morally unfit for office. Sign this petition to Stokes calling for him to resign. It will send a message directly to his municipal email account, so there’s no way he can run from it.
It can be safely assumed that Stokes is a Democrat, even though municipal elections in Mississippi are nonpartisan. However, this sort of behavior should be strongly condemned, regardless of partisan persuasion. If we aren’t willing to clean our own house, we have no business decrying whatever outrage falls from the lips of Donald Trump. Stokes needs to go, and he needs to go now.
