Jackson Free Press

So, what's going on with Columbus police? The Guardian has a report that police there have filed two different police reports for killing of Ball, who was African American. The Guardian reports:

*Since 26-year-old Ricky Ball was shot and killed by police in October, the black community in Columbus, Mississippi, has grappled with questions that don’t have clear answers.

Why did police shoot Ball that night? Why did a string of police officials resign in the months that followed? And why did police claim Ball stole a gun from a police officer’s home only after his death? Attempts to obtain police documents about the case have raised a new question: why did police release two different versions of events from the shooting?

Documents obtained by the Guardian show police altered a document labeled “uniform incident report” in Ball’s death. An initial version published by the Commercial Dispatch said an officer “tased” Ball before he fled. A new version of the incident report released to the Guardian does not include any mention of Taser use.

“One of these two reports is not true,” said Philip Broadhead, director of the criminal appeals clinic at the University of Mississippi law school. Broadhead said he’s never seen an incident report altered the way the document was in this case. “For police officers to offer up this type of information in the form of an incident report as sworn law officers … It’s a violation of their oath.”*

Also, an officer fired for the shooting filed a federal lawsuit over his firing yesterday. Read more here.

Mayor Tony Yarber announced his support of reducing the number of people with mental illnesses in county jails on Tuesday. Yarber presented a resolution in his role of Mayor of the City of Jackson at a rally that the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI, held at the Capitol on Tuesday.

"It is extremely important that we say out loud that we recognize and understand the seriousness of mental illness," Yarber said. "Particularly what our role is at the city of Jackson whether it has to do with interfacing of the police department with those in community who are afflicted with mental illness or making sure health policies are in place (so) that we are dealing with this issue."

NAMI estimates that 2 million people suffer from mental illnesses nationally. NAMI held the rally at the Capitol to bring awareness to the incarceration of people with mental illnesses. The organization, which is partially funded by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, is asking the state to step up its efforts to divert those with mental illnesses from jail and into treatment instead.

Yarber said that mental illness rates are much higher in jails than in the general public, and he said he is committed to "Stepping Up" to share lessons learned across counties and the state to work on making sure those suffering from mental illness in the community get the treatment and services they need instead of going to jail.