By Antonio D. French
Filed Friday, February 10 at 5:54 AM
Yesterday's appointment of Julius Hunter to the state-controlled St. Louis Police Board brings about some interesting questions:
For Hunter: What is his position on subpoena power for a civilian review board? Does he believe that a civilian review board should be made up of elected or appointed members?
But a much more important question should be asked to every candidate for state representative and state senator. In every year of your service in the state legislature, will you introduce and/or support a bill to give the people of the City of St. Louis and Kansas City control of their own police force?
The proposed civilian review board is a Band-Aid on the central problem of lack of control and input at the local level in the policing of our streets. As Alderman Terry Kennedy put it, a police force that you do not control is "more like an occupying force than someone protecting and defending us."
3 Comments:
Can hizzoner get away with saying that he supports a locally controlled police board instead of an elected civilian review board?
6:52 AM, February 10, 2006
It would be hard to make that case considering he hasn't pushed for it in 5 years as mayor, or before that as President of the Board. And also because of his weak support on the issue of keeping the requirement for City cops to live in the City.
Cops seem to be fine with the present state-controlled system. Police organizations have a lot of pull in the state legislature. And it's easy for a state rep from middle Missouri to "support cops" when he doesn't have to be held accountable by the people paying the bills or feeling the consequences.
A good legal arguement can be made that this is a case of taxation without representation. If the citizens pay for the police, they should have a say in the running of the force.
It's a position that a mayor should voice on every opportunity, I think. I also think it should be a top legislative priority of the St. Louis legislative delegation every year until it gets done.
It should also be a determining factor when anyone decides who to support for governor of the state. Back when Claire McCaskill was running for Gov, she told me that she would support such legislation. We'll never know if that was true. But someone else will be running very soon.
7:17 AM, February 10, 2006
Yeah man, I gotta say this shit. We need local control. How can a police force act in the interest of the city when they are ran by the rural state? The question is that it obviously cannot. It is more like an occupying force.
Any candiate that would offer police officers a 5-8 percent raise if the city controlled the police force, would recieve police support for the change. If you offer them money and local support, I am sure they would support this kind of change.
10:48 AM, February 10, 2006
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