So how did you like those big ole Mississippi Department of Wildlife 4X4s parked on the curb at the Courthouse this week?
It looked like a car dealership to me. Those big trucks were new, washed, had good tires, tinted windows, a nice color green, and some had winches. They were even jacked up so you could look underneath.
For those who like a sedan, the Mississippi Highway Patrol was also in town this week.
Those big cruisers sport heavy duty suspension that is great at high speed and they have big powerful motors that will get you anywhere quick. They also have a cage so you can put the kids in the back and not worry about a thing, because they don’t have door handles on the inside.
Locked down tight
The funny part is over.
More than a dozen armed men and women were in Clarksdale this week to guard our courthouse as a murder trial that allegedly involved gang members got underway.
Highway Patrolmen and Game Wardens work for the state and were called in to provide security.
I asked why couldn’t the Clarksdale Police Department handle it. I was told off the record they are short staffed and many of their 20-plus patrolmen are already working double shifts.
Sheriff Mario Magsby had to clean house in his department at the first of the year and he too, is facing staffing issues.
Last but not least, the request was made by the court and will be paid out of court funds, with help from the state.
I went over to the courthouse Tuesday.
Screening was tight as they double-scanned me and then frisked my cowboy boots. When they turn those metal detectors on high the metal support in the arch of good cowboy boots always sets them off.
This was serious.
The big wooden doors to the courtroom were locked and the public was only allowed in and out at the discretion of the judge.
Let’s get serious
When is Clarksdale going to get serious about crime?
There is a story on Page One about a 17-year-old getting shot and killed.
We had a 10-year-old boy shot on Christmas Eve just a few months ago. We had a group of teenagers shot during the summer, a teenager murdered in an alley and, of course, the murder of a 7-year-old at the Crossroads a couple of years ago.
But no one seems to want to talk about those things. It’s bad for business, tourism and economic development.
I wonder if this town really cares.
As Mayor Chuck Espy has said many times, it’s a problem all over the Delta, and it’s not just Clarksdale.
My response is I don’t live anywhere else. I live in Clarksdale and I want law and order in my town.
Shortly after I moved here I heard the stories of how they called in “The Feds” and rounded up a bunch of bad boys.
I want someone to tell me why we haven’t invited them back?
I’ve been told on two separate occasions requests have been made. I haven’t seen them. Have you?
But Clarksdale shouldn’t have to “bring in” muscle to keep a lid on crimes and crooks.
WE should take care of this.
I do remember when former chief Sandra Johnson cracked down one weekend after there was gang trouble in town.
If you had illegally tinted windows, had a headlight out or failed to give a turn signal, you got pulled over. Those traffic stops pulled more than a half-dozen guns off the street that weekend.
Things quieted down real quick as the word got out to stay away from Clarksdale.
Chief Johnson took a lot of heat over that. But she was the perfect “man” for the job.
Gun and a badge
I admire anyone who puts on a gun and a badge every morning and heads out to right a very wrong world.
Would you do it for $40,000 a year?
We truly need to support these men and women. They are not the bad guys. If they are, well, Clarksdale – you and your family – are in very big trouble.
It is my hope that a new set of city judges will start letting crooks know that if you are arrested, tried and convicted, that you can expect to do serious time in our new county jail or that fine establishment south of Coahoma County called “The Flatlands.”
People who don’t follow the rules of civil society need to be separated from the rest of us.
Yes, it takes manpower, facilities and money. Maybe our Mayor could chip in a little from his big salary and address this issue.
As a taxpayer, I will always pay for better schools and better law enforcement. One is an investment in a community’s future; the other is an investment in your safety tonight.
What Next?
So what is the solution?
I’ve already offered you two.
1.) Hire more police.
2.) Let law enforcement do their job and let judges get tough in court.
I’m not talking about head-thumpers – Clarksdale does not want that. I’m talking about professional law enforcement that firmly enforces the law and lets our courts determine true justice.
I’ve covered police for more than 25-years and there is a solution. You put two of your best cops in a car and send them out on the street. They are backed up by a second or third police cruiser as the traffic stop goes down.
Those with an attitude get to tell it to the judge. Those with drugs, guns and out-standing warrants get a free place to stay for the night. Those with everything in order are politely thanked for being law abiding citizens and sent on their way.
The word will get out quick that Clarksdale is a place for good people to come and live and bad boys need to find somewhere else to play.
I promise you, if this community will demand law and order, Clarksdale will change for the better before the summer gets here.
Floyd Ingram is Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. Call him at 662-627-2201 with your suggestion for making Clarksdale a good place for good people.
