(St. Louis Public Radio) – At the second meeting of the Ferguson Commission, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson was supposed to make a multi-faceted presentation on policing – and what changes were being contemplated for his department.
But Dotson’s plans changed in a hurry. He faced intense public antagonism at Monday’s meeting, which focused on the relationship between citizens and police.
The meeting was held at Mullanphy-Botanical Garden Investigative Learning Center in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood. It wasn’t too far from the spot in Shaw where an off-duty St. Louis Police officer shot and killed Vonderrit Meyers, which has sparked weeks of protests throughout the city
Soon after he started his presentation, Dotson faced the ire of a hostile crowd. Some members of the audience shouted at him as he tried to speak, while others turned their backs on him in protest. And several audience members went up to Dotson’s lectern and yelled at him repeatedly.
At one point Dotson – who didn’t answer questions from the press after his presentation – told the crowd: “It’s difficult to have a conversation when one side yells and doesn’t let the other side have a voice.”
Michael Allen – a Shaw resident and historic preservationist – said many in the crowd were likely still upset about Myers’ death. And he said Dotson didn’t help himself by presenting a “wooden” lecture and not being more extemporaneous with the crowd.
“For one thing, this is his first real public appearance before a crowd in Shaw after the Vonderrit Myers shooting – and he didn’t even address the shooting,” Allen said. “I think that’s somewhat audacious knowing the tenor of the room. … This is an emotional crowd. And they want their fears and mistrusts to validated and just sort of stuck to the script.”
“That’s not good enough and that engendered a very hostile audience,” he added.
But others – including Missouri Department of Safety director Dan Isom – thought Dotson handled the crowd fairly well. Isom, who served as St. Louis’ police chief before Dotson, said it was “important that the police department show up and talk about some of these very, very challenging issues.”
I think Chief Dotson withstood the fire and anger and emotions of what people had to say,” Isom said. “And I think it was important that he was here and that he heard that. I know that he feels that same way.”
Commission co-chair Rich McClure said he understood “emotions were high and folks wanted to make statements.” Like last Monday’s meeting, McClure said it was best to let people speak their peace as opposed to throwing them out or shutting them down.
“This is the first meeting where we had specific topics to talk about,” McClure said. “They’ll understand. They’ll want to engage in those topics. And they want to engage in a way that listens to each other, that listens to law enforcement, that listens to community leaders and that has a chance for them creatively and constructively express themselves.”
“And I think over time, people will understand that and that is where we will move to,” he added.
Long road ahead?
In some ways, the sometimes-frayed relationship between African-American St. Louisans and law enforcement officials is at the heart of protests that gripped the region over the past few months.
In the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death, many black residents from in and around Ferguson talked openly about how police had disrespected and harassed them. Numerous local and national news outlets highlighted how some police departments in majority-black towns had primarily white officers. And national publications like the Washington Post and New York Times showcased how some black residents became mired in financial and legal trouble from tickets and fines.
Norma Rhodes told commissioners that she was heartened 40 years ago when she gave birth to a daughter.
But she added when her daughter became pregnant, “I forgot to pray.”
“I now have a 17-year-old grandson,” said Rhodes, adding that he lives in Florida. “He could be anywhere in this country. He would still be under the same halo of horror, really. … I have nothing against the police. Never had a negative encounter. But what I wonder is what efforts are made in the police department to weed out those few officers who have the attitude and psychological issues that are causing all these problems and chaos in our communities.”
Once tensions cooled after Dotson left the building, the remaining members of the audience broke into working groups. They discussed ways to enhance community policing, lessen racial profiling and change when force is used by police officers.
“It’s safe to say that it’s very difficult work,” Isom said. “If it was easy, we already would have accomplished it already. But I think there are opportunities. There are things that happen in sort of the arc of history that give us an opportunity to make some change. And I have to say, we’re in that space right now.”
During the commission’s first meeting, Isom wondered aloud about how some parts of the city embrace police officers – while some neighborhoods are less welcoming. When asked if Monday’s meeting got him any closer to answer to that question, Isom replied: “I think it’s clear that in communities of color that there is a relationship that creates tension.”
“And so, some of the things that I heard from the community was that police departments seemed to have moved away from their goal of community policing,” Isom said. “That hot spot police has created a strain on some of those relationships. Stop and frisk had created a strain on those relationships.”
“We need to find better ways to introduce officers, connect officers to the networks of the community,” he added. “And there were some very real examples of how citizens believe we ought to go about doing that.”
For his part, Allen observed that commissioners were hearing from a wide range of sources and giving lots of time for the general public to sound off. But he said it’ll ultimately be up to the commission to come up with recommendations to bridge racial and economic divides within the St. Louis region.
“The commissioners are going to be the ones who are going to put their names and their insights into the report,” Allen said. “I actually came hoping to hear a little more from each of the commissioners. And I’ve been hearing a little bit of their character through questioning. But in the end, they’re the ones who are going to tell St. Louis how to fix itself.”
Both McClure and fellow co-chair Starsky Wilson announced that the commission’s next meeting would take place next Monday at St. Louis University’s Il Monastero. The meeting will focus on reconfiguring municipal courts, which have come under heavy scrutiny since Brown’s death.
