State Takeover of St. Louis Police Force Advances in Mo. Senate

JEFFERSON CITY, MO — A planned state takeover of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has cleared a major hurdle, advancing in the Missouri Senate.

The Republican-controlled Senate adopted an edited version of previously passed House legislation, following an hourslong Democratic filibuster late Wednesday.

The revised legislation still needs a final vote in the Senate before moving to the House for further consideration.

The previous plan included fraternal organizations such as the St. Louis Police Officers Association in the selection process for a majority of the police board.

But the newest proposal doesn’t include them in the process, following objections raised by state Sen. Karla May, D- St. Louis.

“That’s a conflict,” May said. “This union is trying to control the police department without actually being the chief of police.”

The revised legislation also changes the makeup of the proposed board from a five-member body to a six-member body.

The sixth member would be a nonvoting member and would either need to live in the city or live in St. Louis County and own land in the city and pay taxes on that property.

The mayor would automatically hold one seat on the board while the governor would appoint the remaining five members. Those five would require Senate approval — a layer of legislative oversight the last proposal didn’t contain.

The measure originally brought before the Senate on Wednesday would require the city to put 25% of general revenue toward the police department, excluding retirement and pension obligations from that calculation.

Excluding pension obligations, the city is budgeted to spend 22.7%, or about $132 million, of general revenue on its police department in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

A change before midnight would gradually raise the requirement — from 23% beginning next year to 25% beginning in 2028.

The Senate action followed Mayor Tishaura O. Jones’ poor showing Tuesday in the first round of balloting in the city’s mayoral primary, coming a distant second to Alderwoman Cara Spencer. The two will now compete in an April 8 runoff election.

Jones has faced criticism from the St. Louis Police Officers Association, which supports the takeover bill.

Jones has taken credit for a drop in violent crime during her term and announced a 7% pay raise for police officers in January, covering the cost by eliminating 124 vacant officer positions. While the current budget allows for about 1,220 commissioned officers, as of mid-January, there were roughly 860 commissioned officers.

Spencer has said more needs to be done to improve public safety, arguing the city can’t respond to violence without a fully staffed department.

She has called for higher officer pay and benefits to recruit and retain more officers, an improved 911 system, and using security cameras to deter crime and increase clearance rates.

In Jefferson City, the state takeover remains a priority for Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, who met with senators Wednesday.

In an interview, Kehoe signaled he would continue pushing for a state takeover no matter who is mayor. He said his gauge for success was whether businesses were investing in the area.

“When will they (businesses) move into downtown instead of out of downtown?” Kehoe asked. “That’s the barometer I’m paying attention to. And, you know, the mayor’s race was competitive with the multiple candidates in there.

“Now we’ll have a new mayor — maybe — or an existing mayor in April. And so we’ll see what that outcome is,” he said. “But, I’m not sure that politics should play into whether a community is safe or not.

“Certainly elected officials should be involved in that,” Kehoe said. “But my barometer is — are ... businesses moving in or moving out? And what does it take to make that happen?”

Gabby Picard, spokesperson for Kehoe, said Wednesday “increased oversight and accountability” of the department was an important tool to improve public safety in the city “regardless of who wins the April 8 election for Mayor.”

On Thursday, Sen. Steven Roberts, D- St. Louis, blasted Jones after the Republicans advanced the takeover bill.

“The mayor no longer enjoys the confidence of the people in this building,” Roberts told reporters Thursday. “She couldn’t even be bothered to reach out to the senator who represents nearly the entire city of St. Louis nor engage with any of our Democratic allies.”

Responding to Roberts, Conner Kerrigan, the mayor’s spokesman, said Jones “engaged extensively” with May and “other actual Democratic allies in Jefferson City on this issue,” and credited May with the “few positive modifications” made to the bill. “I obviously can’t say the same for Roberts.”

Wide-ranging package

The state takeover is part of a wide-ranging crime package.

One Senate addition includes repeal of the Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act, which allows the attorney general to seize inmate assets and apply them to incarceration costs.

Another addition — legislation by Roberts — would allow formerly convicted individuals exonerated by evidence other than DNA evidence to seek restitution from the state. Current law requires exoneration by DNA profiling analysis for restitution.

Relief would be $179 per day of post-conviction incarceration, capped at $65,000 per fiscal year.

The omnibus crime bill also includes proposed limits on what jails and prisons may charge inmates for phone calls. Prisons and jails could charge no more than 12 cents per minute under the plan.

The package also would create the Missing/Murdered African American Women Task Force — a priority for state Sen. Angela Mosley, D- Florissant.

The package also boosts penalties for first-degree child sex trafficking, allowing for life sentences with the possibility of parole after 30 years instead of after 25 years in current law.

In addition, first-degree child sex trafficking would apply when the victim is younger than 14.

Currently in Missouri, someone commits first-degree sexual trafficking of a minor if they cause a child younger than 12 to engage in a commercial sex act.

The bill requires law enforcement agencies to report to the state Department of Public Safety “information pertaining to the citizen or immigration status of any person arrested for an offense that is reportable” under a state law.

The legislation is House Bill 495.

________________

Visit www.stltoday.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.