JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Mississippi officials said they want the Jackson Police Department to end “unconstitutional checkpoints” in the city. They said the new Ticket, Arrest, and Tow initiative (T.A.T.) is a bad policy.
Jackson Police Chief James Davis announced the new initiative at the beginning of 2022.
ACLU officials said the new initiative will be more harmful to the public. However, Davis credited the new initiative for about 100 felony arrests since the start of the year.
The organization said they will seek legal action on behalf of Jackson neighbors if the checkpoints continue.
“You can set up roadblocks to search for DUIs. You can set up in the border areas to do citizenship checks. You can also set up roadblocks in certain emergencies, but what you cannot do is stop everyone in a city just for the cause of fighting crime,” said Jarvis Dortch, executive director of ACLU of Mississippi.
“We’re targeting areas where we have high violent crime. I hate that people think that we are targeting a certain group of people; that is not a fact. We’re doing all we can to keep Jackson safe. We’ve got individuals with outstanding warrants that are wanted, and we’re looking to bring them to justice,” said Davis.
On Friday, Jackson police set up an administrative checkpoint on Ellis Avenue and made several more arrests. David said he chose the location because a young woman was killed in the area last month and a nearby business was recently buglarized.