Petition calls for removal of Madison County Sheriff

JACKSON, Tenn.– “We need him removed,” said community activist Tracy Boyd.

A petition calling for the removal of Madison County Sheriff John Mehr has been created following a request for more money to be added to the sheriff’s department budget.

Sheriff Mehr said during Monday’s interview he was brought up to speed on the petition, but had not previously been made aware of it.

“I was elected for this position, and I’ve done just what the people have elected me to do. We brought a lot to this county, and we’re here to serve all the people,” Mehr said.

Boyd started the petition Friday, and almost 200 people have signed it.

“We don’t need money going into the prisons. We need money going into better schools,” Boyd said.

Boyd said instead of giving the department more money, the county commission should reallocate the money into the community.

“Who would answer those calls? Wou know, who would answer everything that takes place? Who would handle the jail? There wouldn’t be anybody,” Sheriff Mehr said.

“That money can go into building youth programs, that money can go back into the Jackson-Madison County School System, to build better schools, and to fix maintenance issues,” Boyd said.

“It takes care of the inmates. It takes care of their medical. You know, my feeling is we need to treat inmates well,” Mehr said.

Some people in the community who didn’t want to be on camera say that taking money from the sheriff’s department isn’t a good idea.

“It seems like crime has not went up, and maybe the budget could stay the same, but maybe the funds that they’re asking for, the increased $3 million, could be used towards teacher pay,” said Iyad Abdi.

“You still got to have your law enforcement, so what are you going to do?” Mehr said.

“We’re going to present it to the Madison County Commission. We’re going to present it to the mayor, and we’re going to call for his [Sheriff Mehr’s] removal,” Boyd said.

Boyd said he’s going to continue spreading the word about the petition to have Sheriff Mehr removed.

Also Tuesday morning, Boyd and others will protest in front of the Madison County Courthouse to have the confederate statue removed.