The concern was high but the attendance was low at a community forum to address concerns of rising crime in Clarksdale.
The forum was hosted by the Clarksdale Board of Mayor and Aldermen with 15 city department heads and 16 people from the community in attendance at Clarksdale Auditorium Monday afternoon.
“A lot has happened in Clarksdale and this place is home to all of us and we want to protect the public,” said Clarksdale Mayor Chuck Espy in opening the meeting. “We want to make sure our top priority is public safety.”
The forum was sparked by the recent death of a 7-year-old who was shot at a laundry-mat near the Crossroads just over two weeks ago and a number of murders in the city and county over recent months.
Espy said there would not be a lot of details on exactly what the police and other law enforcement agencies were doing to combat crime in Clarksdale, “because we don’t want to telegraph our punches to the bad guys.”
Ward 1 Commissioner Bo Plunk said he had hoped the Auditorium would be full and was disappointed in the turnout.
“We know what is going on,” said Plunk. “Not Facebook where you can hear 100 different things.”
Plunk said commissioners get a report from the police department every morning about what type of crimes occurred over the previous 24-hours.
Plunk urged people to call police if they see something suspicious. He also pointed out the Board of Mayor and Commissioner’s job in fighting crime is to support police and let them do their job. He urged the public to do the same things.
Police Chief Robbie Linley said the board has supported him since he was named chief in June. Without going into details, Linley said one of the first things he did when he became chief was to call law enforcement agencies at the regional, state and federal level to establish relationships between those agencies and the Clarksdale Police Department.
He said those contacts have been useful over the past few months.
Linley also praised his own officers.
“The day (Oct. 11) we had two homicides and a drive-by shooting in less than 4-1/2 hours we immediately called in every sworn officer and they all responded immediately,” said Linley. “We took between 15 and 20 guns off the street that night as we started our investigation and quickly developed a suspect. I want to say our investigators then worked constantly until we made two more arrests on Oct. 19.”
Linley said Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI) assisted in the investigation and the U.S. Marshal’s Office was instrumental in helping find those later arrested.
“But I need your eyes and ears,” said Linley. “I am asking all law abiding citizens to take (Clarksdale) back. Let’s take it back together.”
Corporal Milton Williams of the Mississippi Highway Patrol said they stand ready to assist Clarksdale and any citizen driving on a state highway.
“I will say if you have a child and they are not home by 8-9 on a school night, you need to find them,” said Williams. “Kids with no guidance use the excuse that their mother or father was not there.”
Lynn Logan, with Clarksdale Municipal Court, said the Mayor’s Second Chance Program is working and it is requiring offenders of non-violent crimes to write book reports and improve their grades or get their GED rather than pay a ticket.
Logan said there are people who have not been able to get a driver’s license for 40 years and judges work them to expunge their record so they can get a job that requires a driver’s license and get their names back on voting rolls.
Jerome Williams, night manager of Circle K on State Street, said he sees a side of Clarksdale regular citizens don’t see.
“There is a definite problem with speeders on the highway and people doing donuts in the intersection,” said Williams. “We also have mentally ill people and people on drugs come in our store and bother our customers.”
The heavily traveled intersection in Clarksdale is under surveillance from Sky Cop. The Second Chance Program once paid people to leave Clarksdale.
Williams said he has had his car shot, vandalism to the store and two shooting in the parking lot.
“I think we have lost our way,” said Williams. “You say you want to take it back, I say stop giving it away.”
Patricia Gilbert said kids need something to do in Clarksdale and suggested a skating rink or bowling alley.
Espy said a small group of people stopped a development in Clarksdale that was seeking to bring a splash pad, grocery store and hotel to Clarksdale.
Clara Simms said she knows there is a mental health problem and wanted to help people. She also pointed to speeders in her neighborhood and her concerns that a car might hit her grandchildren. She said she does not walk in her neighborhood at night.
Mary Eunice Cole said much has happened on her street and it wasn’t like that just a few short years ago.
“I think you need to get more people on the police force to help Robbie the better we will be,” said Cole.
Espy said the city tries to hire quality policemen and there is a national shortage of police officers. Espy said the rise in crime is also a national concern not exclusive to Clarksdale.
Raymond Cole said he was taught not to steal by his mother who whipped him for stealing at an early age.
“I’ve had my house shot, there is a drug house on our street that everyone knows about,” said Cole. “It’s not safe for kids to be out and I know of at least three gangs that have ‘marked’ our neighborhood.”
Cole also said it was not a racial problem but a community problem. He said he too was displeased with the turnout from the community. The audience was made up of 10 Whites and six Blacks.
“We’ve got good people who got the feds to come in and stop it before,” said Cole. “This town is polluted and we need them to come in and help us clean up.”
Cole said commissioner and the mayor make good money and they need to examine their motives for being city officials and get to work to improve Clarksdale.
A need to clean up dilapidated homes was also voiced at Monday’s meeting.
Clarksdale had a similar problem with a high murder rate several years ago and got churches, civic clubs and prominent people in the community to come together to reduce the homicide rate.
