Natchez leaders need to collectively ask themselves, how did Saturday’s police chase with an armed suspect come to be?

Our community has had many discussions over the last few years about how to resolve the area’s sporadic crime problem. Taking a look at the police chase on Saturday could shine a light on at least one of the problems.

In Saturday’s incident, which fortunately ended with no loss of a life, an armed man ran from police, ramming his car into a patrol car in the process before exiting the car with a loaded gun in his hand.

Fortunately, Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped the armed man from running on foot through a heavily populated neighborhood.

Unfortunately, people who choose to run from law enforcement are more common than we would like to admit.

But in this case, it would seem our justice system has failed. The man arrested Saturday has run from police previously and been charged more than once with trying to harm law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs.

So the question we must ask is: Why on earth was the man released at one point on his own recognizance?

Anyone who has shown a penchant for violence and runs from the police should not receive a get-out-of-jail free card.

This is not a game of Monopoly; this is the safety of our community.

We must all — elected officials, citizens, police and sheriff’s deputies and judges — hold one another accountable if we want to truly attack crime in our community.