Black officer fired for confronting confederate flag protesters rehired and put on midnight shift
A black officer that was fired yesterday for confronting a group of confederate flag wavers in front of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum has reportedly been rehired—but Wardell Jackson is suspended until next Monday and has been moved to the midnight shift.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Jackson stated, “I did my job. I kept them off the property. Now I’m being punished.”
Rep. Kathy Sykes (D-Jackson) spoke out about the flag-waving protestors, “African-Americans hold the local museum in high regard and that to wave Confederate battle flags around is almost like desecration.”
What caused the confrontation
A video of the incident is uploaded to Facebook by Chris Blount, a member of Delta Flaggers. Jackson refused to allow the group onto the grounds of the new Civil Rights Museum in Mississippi. The group visited the museum specifically to take photos outside of it while waving their flags.
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Officer Jackson can be heard in the background politely asking the group to step off of the sidewalk, even joking with one of the flag wavers by pretending to take his pole from him.
“That’s assault, that’s assault!” a man yelled in the video. The visibly agitated officer then smiles and asks, “Sir, did I put my hands on you? Thank you.” “You hit him with that stick,” the man yells again.
State Representative Sykes told the Clarion Ledger that she believed the punishment was unfair. “It was too drastic to fire him. It sends the wrong message.”
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The Department of Finance and Administration officials, who oversee the Capitol Police, confirmed that Officer Wardell Jackson, had been rehired.
According to the Clarion Ledger, Sykes praised officials for giving the Officer Jackson his job back. “Hopefully in the future,” she said, “our employees won’t be subject to harassment on their job.”
