In a move to address a spike in crime over the weekend, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. announced the creation of a special law enforcement task force that will begin operations Thursday.

The change, which was detailed during Flaggs’ press conference Wednesday that addressed changes to the city’s COVID-19 civil emergency order, is designed to “prevent, reduce and respond to crime during this time.”

“This has nothing to do with COVID-19. This is strictly to address crime and the type of crime we saw over the weekend,” Flaggs said.

The order said patrols from the Vicksburg Police Department will be increased each Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. through at least through the end of the extended civil emergency order, which expires Aug. 3. 

The task force will be a minimum of 11 patrol officers on duty along with a watch commander and one of the department’s three deputy chiefs.

The order said that Deputy Chief Bobby Stewart will cover Thursday, July 14 through July 19. Deputy Chief Penny Jones will cover Thursday, July 23 through Sunday, July 26; and Deputy Chief Eric Paymon will cover Thursday, July 30 through Sunday, Aug. 2.

Last weekend, the Vicksburg Police Department responded to multiple calls, including a shooting incident at Waffle House that forced the closure of the restaurant until Monday and a large disturbance at LD’s Restaurant that involved a fight.