JACKSON, Miss.—Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade has stepped down after two years leading the department, Mayor John Horhn announced during the Jackson City Council meeting on Aug. 26.
Horhn said Wade called him last week to submit his resignation. His last day on the job is Sept. 5.
“The stress of the job has taken its toll on him, and he said, ‘Mayor, I’ve got to resign,’” Horhn told the Council on Tuesday. “He has the opportunity to take another position that’s a lot less stressful for a lot more money. I regretfully accepted his resignation and today I publicly do so.”
Wade’s experience on the Jackson Police force spans nearly 30 years; he took the helm in August 2023, under former Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba.
This year, JPD has touted significant reductions in homicides. But on Tuesday, Wade reiterated the mayor’s statements that the job has taken a toll on him, which ultimately led to his decision to step down.
“We are facing so many issues (with) crime and quality of life. I don’t take that lightly as (just) stats or data. I internalize that,” he said. “I take it home with me. I empathize with people. When I’m awakened in the middle of the night and a kid has been killed or a baby has been killed or an elderly person has been killed, I can’t roll over and go back to sleep.”
Building relationships between police and the community was also a challenge, Wade said.
“What I’ve seen in our community, in some situations, is people want the police, but they don’t want to be policed,” he said. But he said he is confident that he “left the Jackson Police Department in a better place than what I inherited.”
Horhn issued a proclamation declaring the day as “Joseph Wade Day.” The mayor and members of the council gave Wade a standing ovation in celebration of his decades of service.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones will take over temporarily as Jackson’s interim chief of police as the City of Jackson looks for a chief to fill the role permanently.
“Let me be clear, I have no aspirations to permanently hold this position of Chief of Police, nor do I seek a confirmation,” Jones said. “My responsibility as Sheriff of Hinds County will continue uninterrupted.”
In an Aug. 26 press release, the City of Jackson’s Communications Director Nic Lott said former “U.S. Marshall George White and Former Chief of the Mississippi Highway Patrol Colonel Charles Haynes will lead a Law Enforcement Task Force that will conduct a nationwide search for the next chief, a process expected to last between 30 and 60 days.”
“The Task Force will also closely evaluate all aspects of law enforcement challenges in Jackson, including youth criminal activity, drug-related crimes, the needs of the Jackson Police Department, and coordination among the Police Department, Sheriff’s Office, and Capitol Police,” Lott continued.
Further details about the Law Enforcement Task Force, the search process, and opportunities for public input will be announced in the coming days, he said.
