Despite various legality concerns, the Jackson City Council voted in favor of an ordinance that would require security personnel at businesses where three violent crimes have occurred within a 90-day period.
As soon as the ordinance was introduced, City Attorney Drew Martin told the council he believed it was unenforceable and contrary to state law. Other cities across the country have passed similar ordinances, but they have not withstood constitutional challenges, he said.
“I have already made it clear to the City Council on several occasions that while I think this ordinance is well-intentioned, I do not believe it is enforceable,” Martin said. “I do not believe the law would allow the city to require businesses to hire security personnel.”
Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, who first introduced the ordinance, wasn’t worried about the legal issues that might come with it. For Stokes, the ordinance is another tool the city has to reduce crime and increase public safety — a major priority for 2024 that he shared with the Clarion Ledger in January.
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“If somebody wants to challenge this law, in the United States you can challenge any law you want,” he said. “If the (city) law department feels they can’t defend it, then get outside counsel. But don’t tell these citizens, ‘You have to keep dying in this city and nobody’s going to do anything about it.’”
That said, several legal questions were raised during the meeting, including: How does the city enforce the ordinance? What constitutes a “violent crime”? Can a city even force a business to hire security guards? Isn’t public safety the job of the police department? What happens to the business if it doesn’t hire security?
None of these questions were answered. Instead, a vote was taken and the ordinance passed 5-1. Stokes, Ward 5 Councillor Vernon Hartley, Ward 1 Councillor Ashby Foote, Ward 2 Councillor Angelique Lee and Ward 6 Councillor Aaron Banks voted in favour. Ward 4 Councillor Brian Grizzell voted against. Ward 7 Councillor Virgi Lindsay abstained.
Additionally, before the vote, both Stokes and Hartley were harsh with the city’s attorneys, questioning why they had not tried to resolve the legal issues before the meeting.
“Mr. Stokes knows about the murders. I know about the murders,” Hartley said. “What I’m asking you to do is think outside the box and not necessarily think about lawyer, lawyer, lawyer this and that… I want you to take every comment that council makes and see how we can do it. If not, I’m along the same lines, let’s just hire an outside firm that can do it.”
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Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba quickly came to the defense of the law department.
“The city attorney’s office has in recent weeks defended several major cases against the city and has won and continues to do so,” Lumumba said. “I think you have a legal department, like all of our departments, that is overburdened and has a number of things to accomplish.”
“They (the city attorney’s office) are not at all willing to do that,” he added. “I think everybody knows that you (Stokes) and I don’t always see eye to eye, right? I support the spirit of what you’re trying to accomplish. The question is how do we get there.”
Lee, like Lindsay, also suggested waiting to vote on the ordinance to allow the Law Department more time to review it, but Stokes disagreed. He wanted the ordinance passed immediately.
“As long as these people continue to die, I will introduce legislation,” Stokes said.
The ordinances take effect 30 days after they are adopted. Given the legal concerns raised by the ordinances, city attorneys said they will seek input from the Jackson Police Department and the city’s Planning and Development Department, as well as see if adding amendments might help.
Stokes’ ordinance follows another that was recently passed — also with constitutional concerns — requiring gas stations and convenience stores to connect their surveillance cameras to the Jackson Police Department’s real-time command center, giving the JPD live access to the store’s surveillance cameras.
