(Jackson, MS) – Wednesday, the City of Jackson held a press conference in reference to a recent high speed chase led by the Richland Police Department that ended in a Jackson neighborhood. The City Attorney for Jackson, Tim Howard spoke from a legal perspective on where the law stands in the state of Mississippi when it comes to police chases. “The current law concerning inter-jurisdictional pursuits found in Mississippi Code Section 99-3-13 allows for such pursuits without regard for the severity of the alleged offense and with no requirement that the entering officer give notice to the jurisdiction he or she is about to enter,” stated Howard. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba discussed having a conversation with metro-area mayors and the need to take a diplomatic approach to preventing police from outside jurisdictions from chasing suspects in Jackson. “We’ve had the grandiose statements that have been made by city leaders in the past, speaking to the issue and that has not led to a different result. It is very clear that the best course of action is to take on a diplomatic approach and work across municipalities and across jurisdictions in order to come to a resolution. To this end, I’ve already engaged in conversations with mayors across the metro area to talk about coming together along with their law enforcement leadership in order to address this issue,” said Lumumba. Mayor Lumumba also stated these inter-jurisdictional police chases pose a danger to the citizens of Jackson and in some cases, have ended in car wrecks and deaths. The Mayor added, “Simply saying we’re going to throw rocks, bottles and bricks at people doesn’t solve the problem. That just provides a grandiose statement that leads to more dissention, and more confusion and more police chases. It is best that we sit across the table and identify what the common ends and objectives are and from there, provide a solution that is in the best interest of our citizens.”