JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Conversations about police pursuits are continuing after United States Postal Service employee Brad Pennington was killed Thursday when a police pursuit that began in Pearl ended in South Jackson when police say a vehicle driven by Brandon Andrews, 22, crashed into the postal vehicle.
Andrews was being pursued by Pearl law enforcement, who say he was speeding on Interstate 20 Westbound and would not pull over.
Since then, Jackson Councilman Kenneth Stokes has reiterated his position of halting all police chases to avoid these types of fatalities.
However, Pearl Mayor Jake Windham says his officers are not responsible for the death, but instead Andrews should be held accountable.
Members of the Jackson community shared their opinions on the matter.
“It’s kind of crazy on both parts. From Pearl to Jackson, that’s too far for a traffic violation. All we can do is pray and stay out the way,” said one neighbor.
“I think both of them are at fault, but I really put the blame on Pearl police. They have been doing police chases into different districts, into Jackson. Kenneth Stokes is trying to crack down on that chase anyway. For it to be just a minor violation, where somebody had to lose their life, that’s crazy. So, how about we just stop the police chases into other cities,” said another neighbor.
“He could’ve stopped. They realized it wasn’t only a traffic violation. If you’ve done something wrong, it’s time to start owning up to it. Quit being so evasive and just own up to it. Now he took somebody’s life for no reason,” said one neighbor.