At the tail end of the Jackson City Council’s 28-minute meeting Tuesday, Police Chief Joseph Wade announced he’s looking into crafting an ordinance that would ban ski masks in public spaces.
Wade didn’t specify a particular incident, but his comments come less than a week after a shootout in the Brookhollow subdivision, where more than 100 rounds were fired across a residential neighborhood in broad daylight. While no injuries were reported, homes and vehicles were damaged, and three arrests have now been made.
“We have young men in our community who are walking around with ski masks on. They call them ‘shiesty-masks,'” Wade said. “I see them down in South Jackson, specifically, on bicycles with no shirts on with ski masks on. I see them on video surveillance inside businesses, gas stations, dollar stores with ski masks on.”
Newly elected Jackson, Miss., Mayor John Horhn, from left, and newly sworn in councilmen, from left, Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote, Ward 2 Councilwoman Tina Clay, Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, Council President Brian Grizzell, Ward 4, Vice President Vernon Hartley, Ward 5, Ward 6 Councilwoman Lashia Brown-Thomas and Ward 7 Councilman Kevin Parkinson attend a city council meeting in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
Wade said the rise in ski mask use has coincided, in part, with the Jackson Police Department’s rollout of facial recognition technology — a tool approved by the council earlier this year.
“Now they’re riding around right now in 90 degree weather, 100 degree weather with ski masks on,” Wade said. “We’re looking for your support as we build out what this ordinance looks like. We’re not trying to violate anybody’s constitutional rights, but we’ve got to make sure our citizens are safe.”
City Attorney Drew Martin then passed out a draft of the ordinance to the council, a copy of which was also obtained by the Clarion Ledger.
Modeled after Louisville ordinance, Jackson’s draft outlines limits and exceptions
The three-page draft ordinance is modeled closely after a longstanding law in Louisville, Kentucky, first enacted in 1983, Martin said. It would prohibit individuals from wearing masks or facial coverings in outdoor public spaces when those coverings obscure the wearer’s identity.
The ordinance defines a mask as “any face covering mask, device or hood whereby any portion of the face is so hidden or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer.”
However, the proposal carves out several key exemptions for citizens. Those include:
Individuals under the age of 14.
Individuals aged 60 or older.
Those wearing masks for health or safety reasons, including illness prevention, respiratory protection or extreme weather.
Participants in cultural, celebratory or religious events such as parades, festivals, theatrical productions or sporting events.
Workers whose jobs require face coverings for physical safety.
Individuals wearing gas masks during emergency situations or drills.
Anyone wearing a mask as part of constitutionally protected activity, including religious expression.
The draft also includes a “limitation on enforcement” section. It states that police officers “may not stop or detain someone solely on the basis that they are wearing a mask” because they are wearing a mask. Enforcement would require reasonable suspicion of another law violation.
If approved, violations of the ordinance would be treated as misdemeanors, carrying penalties up to a $500 fine, up to 90 days in jail or both.
Contact Charlie Drape at cdrape@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS considers ski mask ban after mass shooting