Mayor Tishaura O. Jones has heard and responded to the demands from victims, families, and the community: the use of “no-knock” warrants is banned in the City of St. Louis.
The mayor’s executive order prohibits St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers from entering a residence without first giving warning or announcing themselves as law enforcement. No-knock warrants have been in the national spotlight since March 2020, when 26-year old Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville police, who had entered the wrong apartment. In 2017, SLMPD officers shot and killed 63-year old veteran Don Clark while serving a no-knock warrant based on falsified information provided by a police officer.
Clark’s family has been vocal about banning no-knock warrants in St. Louis, and Don Clark Jr. was present with Mayor Jones at Tuesday’s signing. Other family members whose loved ones were killed during no-knock raids surrounded the mayor as she signed the ban.
“It’s a really good first step and shows the mayor is understanding our concerns and hearing our cries,” Don Clark Jr. said. “Hopefully after today, no one else has to experience what my family has been through.”
The executive order also provides further restrictions on the use of flash-bangs and other “diversionary devices,” and requires that “the majority of officers” who enter a residence under a warrant wear activated body cams.
[Nora] Walker will face Tonya Finley-McCaw, the charismatic mother of state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge. – They are running to replace Jeffrey Boyd, who recently resigned as Alderman of The 22nd Ward after being federally indicted.
“Public safety and policing must be responsive to the needs and concerns of the community,” said Mayor Jones in a statement. “This is an important step for our city and in line with action taken by municipalities across the country.”
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Alderwoman Megan-Ellyia Green (Ward 15) is the first candidate to declare her run for the now-vacant position of President of the Board of Aldermen. Green filed her candidacy paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission over the weekend and formally announced her intent to fill the role held for 15 years by the now-resigned and indicted former aldermanic president, Lewis Reed.
At this point, other potential aldermanic challengers may include former and defeated mayoral candidate Cara Spencer (Ward 20), the unremarkable Jack Coatar (Ward 7), and police surveillance enthusiast Tom Oldenburg (Ward 16). So far, only Green has filed to run for board president; the deadline to file with the City Board of Elections has yet-to-be-announced but is expected to be later this summer. Board Vice President Joe Vollmer (Ward 10) has been acting as board president since Reed’s resignation and has stated that he would not run for the position in November. Coatar and Oldenburg both rely upon the Kelley Group to manage their campaigns and social media accounts, so both aldermen considering a run could potentially create a conflict for the Kelley political machine. Founder Michael Kelley most recently is known for his working on campaigns for disgraced former county executive Steve Stenger, former St. Louis mayor Lyda Krewson, and Reed. Kelley was paid unknown, and likely obscene, sums of money to lobby for the failed airport privatization project and Rex Sinquefeld’s ill-considered proposed city/county merger plan, Better Together.
… [Lewis] Reed is heard chuckling as the ex-police chief/convicted felon Romanik hurls insults toward Green. Reed publicly apologized to Green and released a statement a few days later, calling Romanik’s abusive language “shock jock tactics.”
There would be somewhat of a poetic justice if Green is successful in her bid to replace Reed as board president – who could forget Reed’s gross, sexist attacks toward Green during his January 2016 appearance on the radio show of the late open-and-notorious racist Bob Romanik. During the segment, Reed is heard chuckling as the ex-police chief/convicted felon Romanik hurls insults toward Green. Reed publicly apologized to Green and released a statement a few days later, calling Romanik’s abusive language “shock jock tactics.”
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In the wake of St. Louis County’s own federal bribery indictment, County Council-pest Tim Fitch demanded that County Executive Sam Page release legal documents to Fitch, related to employment records and possible investigations for other county employees. Instead of responding to Fitch’s letter, Page sent a detailed letter to Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith to inform him of the former police chief’s attempted interference in a federal investigation.
Page stated that he was requesting Goldsmith’s input before responding to Fitch’s letter, given Fitch’s previous close relationship with now-convicted, former county executive Steve Stenger and allegations that Fitch may have made a secret deal with Stenger to receive a pension that Fitch otherwise was not qualified to receive. After Stenger was forced to resign, Page said, the deal to benefit Fitch was never completed. Page also called attention to Fitch’s history of manipulating media and public opinion as the police chief for the St. Louis County Police, where Fitch used his public office to smear former county executive Charlie Dooley.
In his letter, Page also called attention to Fitch’s close relationship with police lobbyist and current county executive candidate Jane Dueker. Dueker was a key contributor to Stenger’s apologist administration, from running his political campaigns to fundraising to writing policy, and according to Page, was caught helping to falsify records and testimony that was later presented to the County Council to cover up Stenger’s misdeeds. Dueker’s participation with Stenger’s campaign and administration was well known and she’s made no attempts to distance herself from the convicted white-collar criminal.
As if the connection to the Stenger investigation wasn’t enough, Page closes out his letter by drawing attention to Dueker’s relationship as advisor, counsel, and financial supporter of disgracefully resigned former aldermen Jeffrey Boyd and Reed, who are currently being prosecuted by Goldsmith’s office for white collar crimes.
In response to Dueker’s latest attempt at relevancy, Page spokesman Doug Moore simply replied, “Jane will say anything for attention. Case in point.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Fitch’s publicity stunt.
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Speaking of discredited Boyd: he officially has announced his endorsement for his replacement in the 22nd Ward and is throwing his support behind current ward committeewoman Norma Walker. Boyd is currently facing four federal felony charges for two separate white-collar schemes. Suddenly an expert on leadership, Boyd touted Walker’s public service background, stating via text “[w]e need her leadership to keep moving the ward forward. Although I’m no longer alderman, I will always be available if you need me. I love my community.”
Would this happen to be the same community from which Boyd allegedly hustled away hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax abatements – funds that would have otherwise gone to St. Louis Public Schools?
Walker will face Tonya Finley-McCaw, the charismatic mother of state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge. Finley-McCaw, who ran against Boyd in 2019, was endorsed by this paper, recognized for her drive to serve her constituents and to reconnect the ward to its best interests, not those of its political representatives.
In the meantime, someone should probably let Boyd know that his future availability will depend on the outcome of his contest with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons.
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