Tennessee senator speaks on recent protests

JACKSON, Tenn.– Madison County Mayor Jimmy Harris called Tennesee Senator Marsha Blackburn Tuesday.

He asked her many questions, while discussing the recent protests against racial injustice across the state.

“Peaceful protest is something that we should preserve, and voices, every voice, deserves to be heard, and peaceful protest is something that is very American,” Blackburn said.

Many protesters are urging cities to defund the police, which means remodeling the force, investing more in communities and reallocating funds to other areas.

“People are calling for police departments to be defunded. What does that mean, and what would be the potential impacts?” Mayor Harris asked.

“Well, this is something I do not support. I think law enforcement needs more funds,” Blackburn said.

In fact, Sen. Blackburn said more funding needs to be invested in training officers.

“Following the murder of Mr. Floyd, and so that needs to be addressed, de-escalation training,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn is urging the need for safety at protests going forward to ensure peaceful protests stay peaceful.

“Destroying livelihoods, entering or killing of officers. Those are the situations that are going to need to be investigated and figure out where the funding was,” Blackburn said.

Sen. Blackburn will being reaching out to leaders in other counties in Tennessee to answer any questions they may have.