A hastily called city board meeting seeking to push through the hiring of a director of a gang task force on Friday morning was followed up Monday, by a more detailed and open plan to give the Clarksdale Police Department more power to fight crime.
Monday’s special called board meetings followed the shooting of a Clarksdale Policeman Friday afternoon Aug. 5, and a special called meeting July 26 where the city voted to raise garbage fees, pay a select group of young people to clean city streets and hire more people in the Public Works Department.
Friday’s Aug. 5 noon special meeting saw Mayor Chuck Espy seek a motion to hire a director and four employees to address drugs and gangs in the city.
The motion did not say who the mayor had in mind for the post, but sources close to the city speculated former Sheriff Charles Jones would be hired and he would pick the people to serve under him.
Jones was defeated in last summer’s county election by current Sheriff Mario Magsby. Magsby was fired by Jones several years ago. Ward 3 Commissioner Willie Turner worked for Jones as the jail warden and resigned when Sheriff Magsby took office in January.
Ward 1 Commissioner Bo Plunk changed the motion asking the city to find the money for the task force first and let Clarksdale Police Chief Robbie Linley hire the officers.
“We don’t have the money in the budget right now,” said Plunk. “Let’s do this in October and we will budget money for it when we put together the next budget in a month or two. Let’s do this right, because if this starts off wrong we might not be able to fix it. It’s going to take that long to set up the task force anyway.”
Espy balked at Plunks motion and said too many people have died in Clarksdale recently and he didn’t want to be held accountable for any more homicides between now and October. Espy said he could not support Plunk’s “conceptual motion.”
Plunk countered that one man would not be able to stop the crime wave Clarksdale is currently under, it would not be fair to current officers to hire a task force at a higher wage and department heads are responsible for hiring people in their department.
When Plunk’s conceptual motion was called to a vote, Espy missed the vote count, called it a tie and said he would now vote to break the tie.
Plunk pointed out he voted for the motion, Ward 2 Commissioner Jimmy Harris voted for the motion and Ward 4 Commissioner Ed Seals voted for the motion. Turner voted against it.
A surprised Espy asked for a roll call vote and Plunk’s motion passed 3-1.
After Friday’s shooting of a police officer at the Double Quick on Friars Point Road the city called its third special meeting in three weeks with three items on the agenda. Special Called Meetings can only address specific issues on a formal agenda.
At the meeting the city voted to:
• Pray for the speedy recovery for Lieutenant Bradley Hillhouse who was shot in Friday’s incident and hear an update by Police Chief Linley.
• The city directed Chief Linley to request assistance in writing from ATF, MHP, MBN, DEA, and U. S. Marshals and inform them of the increase in shootings and gang-related violence in the City of Clarksdale by Order of the Board of Mayor and Commissioners.
• Confirm an order of the Board of Mayor and Commissioners that the appointment of Linley as Police Chief “for four years (until the end of this Board’s term) beginning on June 28, 2021 stands and will not be changed.
Commissioners voted unanimously to pray for Hillhouse and directed Linley to formally call in outside agencies.
Turner said he disagreed with the order to make Linley police chief until the end of his term. Plunk, Harris and Seals voted for the order and it passed.
Qualifying for 2025 city elections will begin Jan. 1, with City Party Primaries held in March and Municipal General Elections held the first week of June 2025 with a new board seated at that time.
Both Friday and Monday’s meeting were well attended by the community, with 37 people in the audience Monday. Navy Chief Petty Officer (ret.) John Campbell spoke prior to Monday’s meeting and said he was the victim of a theft involving a boy on a bicycle in his neighborhood and drove up to the Double Quick right after the shooting occurred Friday. He said crime is rampant and city leaders must do something to stop it.
The board voted to adjourn until its regular noon vetting meeting set for Thursday, Aug. 8 at City Hall. All meetings are open to the public and the community is urged to attend.
