By John Howell Sr.
The Department of Public Safety’s recent assignment to the Batesville Police Department the responsibility for accident investigation for the portion of I-55 inside Batesville corporate limits raised questions among the city’s mayor and aldermen during their Tuesday meeting.
Police Chief Tony Jones told city officials that the police department’s responsibility begins at midnight, Jan. 1.

“This law was in effect in 1972, why is it just now coming up?” Mayor Jerry Autrey asked, rhetorically, repeating the question he said he had posed to Rep. Nolan Mettetal and Senator Steve Hale.

The mayor referred to language in the Mississippi Code of 1972 that states, “it shall be the duty of the police department of each municipality to investigate all accidents … when the accidents occur within the corporation limits of the municipality.”

“If it’s in their city limits, its always been theirs to work, we’ve just always done it because we were able to help,” Mississippi Highway Patrol Trooper First Class Joseph Miller of MHP Troop E’s Public Affairs Division stated in an email response to an inquiry last week.

“Our manpower is so low we just can’t anymore,” Miller added.

“They won’t say it, but what the Highway Patrol is doing, they want the cities to put pressure on the legislature to come up with some more funds for the Highway Patrol,” the mayor said, alluding to preliminary discussions of the upcoming state budget to be considered in the legislative session that begins in January.

Those discussions have included whether to fund a school to turn out more state troopers to help fill gaps that will be created by retirements pending in MHP ranks.

“I said, ‘well, I know you’re not in session, but if  the city’s going to do this, I’m going to be looking at you paying me for an extra man and a car,’” Autrey continued, referring to his conversation with the two legislators.

“At night when we have three men on patrol here in the city, if we have something up there, then we’re not going to be protected in the city,” the Mayor said.

In an accident, “you really can’t do it with one patrolmen, you really need two,” the mayor continued.

“What if we have that and we have to completely reroute traffic for eight hours?” Alderman Teddy Morrow asked.

“We’ll have to call in people from home and do what we’ve got to do,” the police chief replied.
“You can’t call the highway patrol to assist you?” Alderman Stan Harrison asked.

“I can call them. The problem is if they don’t have the manpower to assist us,” Jones said.
Jones said that other resources available in the event of a major accident or a chemical spill include Panola County Emergency Management Agency Daniel Cole and the Mississippi Dept. of Transportation’s Haz-Mat team.

“The S. O. (sheriff’s office) is good about coming and helping us,” Jones added.

Autrey said that he had contacted MDOT District Engineer Mitch Turner and asked for city limits signs placed on the interstate and improved crossovers.

“We don’t need to go all the way to Pope or Sardis to turn around,” Autrey said.