State Takeover of St. Louis Police Force Goes Before Missouri Governor

JEFFERSON CITY, MO — The Missouri House on Wednesday gave final approval to a proposed state takeover of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, sending the plan to Gov. Mike Kehoe.

Kehoe, a Republican, is expected to sign the plan, which has been a top priority for the new governor. The legislation passed Wednesday is part of a wide-ranging crime bill touching on numerous topics.

The action hands Kehoe his first major legislative victory as governor and represents a final blow to Democratic opponents of the plan, including St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.

The state takeover will take effect when Kehoe signs it, and the governor will be required to appoint four members to the new Board of Police Commissioners within 90 days after the signing.

The St. Louis mayor, who currently appoints the city’s chief of police, will also be a member of the board, along with a sixth member who won’t have voting power.

Kehoe, in a statement, praised legislators for “prioritizing public safety at the start of” this legislative session.

“I look forward to seeing this legislation on my desk,” he said.

Jones, in a statement Wednesday, said her administration has spent the last four years addressing the realities of crime in the city.

“We continue to improve 9-1-1 response times, we’ve introduced call diversion programs, we’ve invested in community organizations that address the root causes of crime, and all this has resulted in a historic decrease in crime,” she said.

St. Louis gained local control of its police department following a 2012 statewide vote. But in more recent years, moves to do away with the change have gained traction.

“All this bill does is halt and reverse our progress in service of allowing a small number of non-city-residents to pat themselves on the back because they succeeded in taking away the will of the voters once again,” Jones said. “This bill is disrespectful, it’s pathetic, and it’s cowardly.”

The 113-39 vote Wednesday, with seven legislators voting present, followed one last round of emotional debate on the House floor.

Kehoe has argued the takeover would increase accountability and oversight of the department.

But on Wednesday, state Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins, D- St. Louis, called the bill a “slap in the face” to the city.

“Individuals want to take over our police department because we have an African American female mayor who currently serves the city of St. Louis,” she said. “I personally believe that state control is about mass incarceration.”

But Rep. Brad Christ, R-south St. Louis County, said the takeover is a “great tool” though not a “cure-all.”

“We’re going to ensure that the governor and Legislature can appoint and approve a set of people who are serious about public safety,” Christ said.

The four new commissioners will need to be St. Louis residents, while the nonvoting member could come from St. Louis County if they own and pay taxes on real property in the city.

Christ said no one should wait minutes for a 911 dispatcher to pick up or an hour for an officer to arrive.

Rep. Mark Sharp, D- Kansas City, said he wants to improve response times but that there wasn’t language in the bill dedicated to that.

“Transferring the oversight of the St. Louis Police Department from local elected officials to the state is not an automatic improvement to response times,” Sharp said.

Rep. Del Taylor, D- St. Louis, said the bill “does nothing to address crime.”

He noted a police board oversaw the department for years and that there was a statewide vote to undo state control.

But not all Democrats voiced opposition. Rep. Steve Butz, a south St. Louis Democrat who is running for state Senate, said St. Louis County also has a police board, though one not appointed by the governor.

“If we pass this bill, and there is good bipartisan support ... it will dramatically improve the morale of the men and women of the St. Louis city police department who overwhelmingly support his bill,” Butz said.

In the end, seven Democrats broke with most of their party to back the wide-ranging crime bill, while two Republicans voted against the bill.

In addition to Butz, other Democrats who voted for it were Nick Kimble, of St. Louis; Mark Boyko of Kirkwood; Ian Mackey of Clayton; and Ken Jamison, Martin Jacobs and William Jobe, all from the Kansas City area.

Republicans who voted against the measure were Bryant Wolfin of Ste. Genevieve and Rep. Mazzie Christensen of Bethany.

Prior to the 2012 vote, state control of the department dated to the start of the Civil War, when pro-Confederate state officials wanted to contain the pro-Union city police department.

The House vote Wednesday followed final action in the Senate on Monday on the bill.

Multiple Democratic priorities were added to the omnibus crime bill that included the state takeover, including a state task force on missing and murdered African American women, a limit on how much jails and prisons may charge inmates for phone calls, and a measure allowing more exonerees to seek restitution from the state.

The legislation also would require the sheriff of the city of St. Louis to have a valid peace officer license “within two years of being elected as sheriff.”

The bill also includes a new law against stunt driving and requirement that officers report information on immigration or citizenship status for people arrested for certain crimes.

Missouri Capitol building. The two were there to oppose a bill sponsored by state Sen. Nick Schroer, R- Defiance, that would put the police department under a state-controlled board.

“This legislation gives law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on crime and illegal immigration and enacts a citizen board to oversee the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department,” Kehoe said.

St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy, in a statement after the vote, said the department’s mission remained unchanged. “Public safety is and will always remain our top priority for our community. The brave men and women of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are fully committed to protecting and serving the City of St. Louis.”

SLMPD currently has 883 commissioned employees and 32 police trainees, Tracy said.

The legislation is House Bill 495.

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