First, note that the JFP cover from April, shot by Kate Medley of Melton with the shotgun, is in the New York Times story about him today. Otherwise, the story is an interesting summary and, over all, pretty decent. Of course, there are vital details left out that they probably couldn’t figure out quickly …
It could have mentioned that Mr. Melton has lied repeatedly to media about being a certified law enforcement officer here:
Though there is no evidence that Mr. Melton has ever been formally certified as a law enforcement agent, his anticrime platform and reputation as a man of action helped him rout the incumbent, Harvey Johnson Jr., in the Democratic primary with more than 60 percent of the vote.
Here it’s too bad the story doesn’t mention that the agents were later cleared of the accusations, which is relevant:
In 2002, Mr. Melton was appointed to lead the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, where he got into trouble after leaking a memorandum accusing two agents of illegal conduct. He said in a deposition that he did not leak it, but later admitted he had.
They left out the Walking Tall stick—but they are getting the actual charges for that night right, it seems, as opposed to many other media outlets (that is, no drugs were found):
The mayor cut his hand on broken glass and left to get treatment, but returned later and ordered his youth crew to demolish Mr. Welch’s side of the duplex with sledgehammers. Mr. Welch was then arrested on charges of violating the open-container law and possession of drug paraphernalia, which court papers describe as a crack pipe. He pleaded guilty, but a new lawyer is now trying to withdraw the plea on the ground that Mr. Welch is mentally ill.
… leaked to the Jackson Free Press (grin):
Yet it is not clear that Mr. Melton’s unorthdox tactics have had any beneficial effect. This year, crime in Jackson has increased by about 16 percent over the same period in 2005, according to police reports leaked to local newspapers. (The city generally declines to release statistics.)
Un-fricking-believable comments from SafeCity Watch. But predictable:
Tricia Raymond, the executive director of SafeCity, a watchdog group on whose board Mr. Melton once served, said the increase in crime might be a result of underreporting by the previous administration.
“I can’t say there’s been a positive long-term effect,” Ms. Raymond said of the mayor’s focus on crime. “I do know that the community just feels energized simply because we have a mayor that’s willing to address the problem.”
(I’m surprised the Times fell into the same trap of allowing the above serious accusation without checking it out for accuracy—being that it was the political line that Melton used repeatedly in order to sensationalize crime without challenge from the mainstram media. Guess they didn’t know that.)
Previous Comments
If Trica Raymond feels so positive about her claims, she should take the advice of Councilman Allen when he was pressed about Melton’s accusations, “Just go file charges!” Hope she enjoyed her 15 words of fame getting in the NYT. But, I doubt she has the stones to do it. I find it hard to have faith in a crime fighting organization that would rather spend time and money discrediting the past administration instead of addressing the current problems with crime in Jackson. Wake us up when you join Jackson in the present! If another Mayor had depleted the current police force from nearly 500 officers to the current 435(ish) while doubling the budget of city hall administrative costs, we would have a full out jihad on that Mayor. Instead we have a group that would rather play politics and cry about crime, then actually addressing the problem. He’s learning. His heart is in the right place. He’s helping keep thugs off the streets. He’s the only one who cares or is doing something. O RLY?!? Got any stats to back that crap up SafeCity? How about some stats about Melton’s tenure with the MBN? They are scared to report the truth about Mr. Melton? So, we are supposed to applaud the administration for raising our taxes to help add 35 more officers to the department – WHICH STILL LEAVES US SHORT 20 OR SO OFFICERS WE HAD BEFORE MELTON TOOK OVER! We would be well on our way to 550 officers had we of kept the current pace of the last administration. Hmmm….??? How many more officers or equipment could we employ/buy with the added expense of keeping Melton and his “clique” up and running? Why were the past mayors able to do so much more with so much less?
#123904 | Author: pikersam | Date: Sep 21 2006
Now this is a story that makes us all look like a pack of morons (unlike, in my opinion, the NPR story). Starts off with: Most politicians who run afoul of the law are accused of bribery, kickbacks or ethics violations. But not here in the state capital, where Mayor Frank Melton, an erratic figure who took office in July 2005, does nothing by the book. Mr. Melton has disdained such basic functions as drawing up the city’s budget in favor of cruising through the city’s worst neighborhoods in a police department “mobile command center.” He is known for carrying two guns, wearing a police jacket and a badge, searching cars, knocking on doors and raiding nightclubs while brandishing a large stick. Mr. Melton’s activities now threaten to derail his career. Last week, he was indicted on eight charges, including burglary, malicious mischief and causing a minor to commit a felony. Prosecutors said he had illegally carried sidearms and improperly helped demolish a duplex he says was a crack house. Although no drugs were found in the house, occupied by a man with a history of mostly petty crimes, the mayor’s sledgehammer-wielding crew took down its front wall. Despite the indictment, the city’s frustration with crime has kept the mayor a popular figure. Whaa?? The mayor is a “popular” figure? Who’d got the data to back that up. Yes, he has some supporters, but this makes it sound like the whole freakin’ city thinks he’s doing the right thing. And, no we didn’t accuse him of bribery, kickbacks or ethics violations, but he has been *indicted* on *criminal charges*, so don’t make it sound like we in the “capital city” don’t take this seriously. And the closing paragraph: At least for now, Mr. Welch can rest easy. As a condition of his bail, Mr. Melton has been ordered to stay away from guns, drugs, alcohol and minors. And police vehicles. To me, this article is way more insulting than the piece by NPR. Or, maybe my expectations of print media are higher than electronic. Shaila Dewan needs to take some lessons in Journalism.
#123905 | Author: kate | Date: Sep 21 2006
Interesting points, Kate. And the passives don’t help: As a condition of his bail, Mr. Melton has been ordered to stay away from guns, drugs, alcohol and minors. And police vehicles. It would be more interesting to point out that a black woman district attorney and a black woman judge are ordering him “to stay away …” yada, yada. I’m afraid that the mainstream media will continue missing the point that Mr. Melton and friends sold the city a bill of goods—and now a coalition of blacks and whites, Republicans and Democrats are saying “enough is enough.” I wonder if she surveyed the audience at the Council meeting Tuesday night, for instance, to find out how many are on his payroll. It’s not like that was a cross-section of Jackson.
#123906 | Author: DonnaLadd | Date: Sep 21 2006
Kate, I am flabbergasted by folks who say that they are in support of Melton still. I usually somehow prod for personal sentiments about the mayor in conversations with friends, neighbors, clients, baristas, etc. and am floored by the amount of people that continue to reply with some version of “at least he is out there doing something.” It’s easy to feel like we are in a large majority denouncing Frank and his antics, but trust me, there are a ton of Jacksonians who just don’t see him for what he is.
#123907 | Author: bobnoxious | Date: Sep 21 2006
bobnoxoius, I know there are people who still support Melton. What bugged me about the article was the impression, from the first few paragraphs, that there’s no opposition to what he’s doing. The opening paragraph about how “most politicians” blah blah, but “not here in the Capital City.” Come freakin’ on. If you only read the first 3 paragraphs, you’d think *nothing* was being done. Then, the only implication is that this is going to “derail his career.” Uh, no – he could be facing prison time. I just found the whole thing condescending. Trying to trivialize the whole thing, while making sweeping generalizations (“remains popular” – what does THAT mean?). And, my remarks are also in response to the folks who found the NPR piece offensive – which I did not agree with.
#123908 | Author: kate | Date: Sep 21 2006
Except, now that I read it again, I think I’ve completely missed her point (which is really poorly made, and confusing), and made an ass of myself. I think she’s saying that instead of the usual bribery scandal, we’ve got a mayor indicted on criminal charges. Whatever. I’m an idiot, and a pissed off one at that. The whole bit just rings too cutesy, and the “derail his career” I find annoying. And that last paragraph just reads like something out of TV Guide. I’m surprised she didn’t throw a joke in there about how he has NOT been ordered to stay away from sledgehammers and other construction equipment. Maybe I need to switch to decaf.
#123909 | Author: kate | Date: Sep 21 2006
The next to last paragraph of the article reads: In an interview at his parents’ house, where he is now staying, Mr. Welch said he feared that the mayor would find him. “I’m afraid he might kill me,” Mr. Welch said. “Why did he do this to me?” That is so very, very sad! I would have liked to see part of that quote in the headline.
#123910 | Author: JAR | Date: Sep 21 2006
Recent Immigration Stories
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
