Mayor calls for “Operation Enough”

By Marcus McClain

NEA Town Courier

Mayor Melisa Logan and police chief Ross Thompson addressed the city on Tuesday evening following a homicide the previous night.

At the intersection of Clark and McHaney streets, the mayor, chief, state police and community members stood together to seek an end to gun violence in the city of Blytheville. On Monday night, the community lost Rasheed Henry, 23, in the 500 block of E. McHaney.

“How many children do we have to lose before we realize we are becoming extinct? Our young people are dying in the street and becoming extinct. We need your help. I am here with the father of that beautiful young man who was lost last night,” Logan said.

“We have the local and state police here, city council members and citizens of the community here begging the city to stop the violence. We have got to put the guns down. These bullets are designed to kill. They are not designed to make peace. We can not continue on this trajectory.”

She urged the community to be active participants in Operation Enough, seeking to eliminate senseless violent crime.

“Somebody absolutely knows what happened here last night. Somebody knows what happened last November. Somebody knows what happened in January,” Logan said.

“I am begging and pleading with you to come forward. Help us solve these murders and take guns off the street. You know if it’s your son. You know if it's your nephew, grandchild, cousin, sister or brother. I don’t want to lose another baby to senseless gun violence.”

Thompson stated that the department has solved these cases at a rate above the national average. In the previous police committee meeting he noted that in the last five years, the department closure rate in murder cases is 80 percent. He added that since 2021, 100 percent has been closed with an arrest. However, the goal now is to prevent the case from occurring.

“It’s not enough to make an arrest any more. It’s about stepping into the prevention side of things. Somebody knew something was brewing in most of these cases. Somebody knows what's going on between these groups that are shooting back and forth,” Thompson said. “Tell us beforehand and we will take the steps to stop it before it ever occurs.”

He later added, “How many times have I had to speak to a family member, mother or father about the senseless killing of their child? There are no winners in this. No gamesmanship, there’s nothing. Just losers.”

Logan has called for an increased police presence through the city, and searches as permitted during traffic stops, exhausting all avenues to pull guns off the street.

“I’m tired of it. I’ve been in office 90 days. And in 90 days, I’ve lost three people. I’m averaging a body a month. That's not good enough. I don’t want any bodies on my watch. So this has to stop and it has to stop right now,” Logan said.

“Please, if you see something say something. The police department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We don't rest and we won’t rest until we get these guns off the street and save our babies.”