About one hundred protesters gathered outside of the Brandon Police Station Saturday chanting “enough is enough.” A sentiment felt by black men and women who say they lack trust in the predominantly white police force.
“Have y'all had a serious conversation about everything that’s going on," asked Jasmine Toines, a school teacher in Brandon.
"Because my husband personally has been racially profiled in Brandon, Mississippi coming right out of here,” pointing to the local police station.
She tells the city’s police chief William Thompson there’s an issue in Rankin County with police bias in black neighborhoods. She says her husband, who works as a contractor, was pulled over by a white police officer and asked “what he was carting around in his work van.” She says she believes the officer insinuated he was carrying illegal drugs because he was a black man.
“It’s a problem,” Toines said.
“It’s a serious problem to the point where I get fearful every time he leaves the house. Big black and stocky with long dreads… I want to know that he’s safe when he leaves the house.”
Brandon Police Chief Thompson apologized to Toines for what happened to her husband during the traffic stop. He tells the crowd how to file a complaint on an officer and he assures them it’ll be investigated thoroughly and justly.
“We review video,” said Williams.
“Presenting wrong doing on videos, I’ll be the first one to fire you, okay? I apologize for anything that may have happened to your husband,” he said.
“If something like that does happen again, please come in and talk to me or file a complaint.”
The protesters tell Chief Williams they want more representation from minority communities on the police force and a liaison to work closely with the department. Similar protests are scheduled in Mississippi this weekend as the call for justice continues over the police involved killing of George Floyd and other black men and women across the country.
