Mar 23, 2017
JACKSON, Miss. — Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance is addressing a viral video that shows some of his officers making arrests.
The person that recorded the video, Cordarius Thompson, claimed that a female officer hit his mother, Melodee Thompson.
The video shows the aftermath of the commotion.
In the video you see officers detaining a couple of people, and you can hear shouting. You can also see a woman lying on the ground; Cordarius said his mom was having a seizure.
Chief Lee Vance addressed the accusations of police misconduct on Thursday.
Police said the incident stemmed from a traffic stop that took place on Lyndon B. Johnson. We’re told that an officer tried to talk to the driver and several people started coming outside of a home.
“When things started to get out of hand was when these individuals came out of the house one even said that he’s not going to jail,” Vance said. “That interference in the traffic stop is what caused all the volatility.”
Five people were arrested for interfering with police and failure to obey. Vance said a woman did have a seizure and an officer tried to assist her. The driver of the car was not combative, officers said.
“I did not see any blatant violations committed by our police officers,” Vance said. “That’s what you’re looking for is policy violations. They used some profanity and of course we don’t condone that. We will handle that through the disciplinary process.”
Cordarius said one of the male officers sprayed his mother with mace and that’s when he started recording.
Vance said none of the officers were placed on leave.