Mississippi OKs more state policing in mostly Black city

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s Republican governor has signed a bill to expand the territory of a state-run police department inside the majority-Black capital city of Jackson. The new law is expected to face a court challenge from the NAACP. The legislation was passed by a majority-white and Republican-controlled state House and Senate. Jackson is governed by Democrats and about 83% of residents are Black. NAACP national president Derrick Johnson lives in Jackson. He said earlier this month that the NAACP intends to sue the state because the law would treat Black people as “second-class citizens.” Gov. Tate Reeves says the new law is designed to curb Jackson’s “crippling problem with violent crime.”