Training standards for police officers in Missouri will get an overhaul for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Gov. Jay Nixon announced Thursday that he will ask the Missouri Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission to issue new rules around tactical training, fair and impartial policing, and the well-being of officers.
“The brave men and women of law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to protect us and keep our streets safe,” Nixon said. “We owe it to them, and the citizens they serve, to provide our law enforcement officers with the knowledge and training they need to keep themselves and their community safe.”
The new standards, which are expected on Dec. 1, are based on the work of the Ferguson Commission. Its members want officers to get 24 hours of training in each of the three areas over three years, for a total of 120 hours.
“These three areas around culturally competent policing, tactical and use of force, and officer wellness are areas that the community has said are very important,” said the Rev. Starsky Wilson, a co-chair of the commission. “We’re glad there’s a convergence of interest on this right now.”
Wilson’s co-chair, Rich McClure, applauded the three-month time frame.
“There needs to be sense of urgency in adopting these standards,” he said. “It’s really past time for us to increase these standards.”
“It was clear to us that there was a differential that needed to be closed, both in the type of curricula, as well as in the guaranteeing of it,” Nixon said. “The bottom line is, we feel a strong motivation to be leaders here.”
Kevin Ahlbrand, a detective sergeant with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and president of the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, was pleased Nixon addressed officer well-being. But he was concerned about the financial burden the additional training could put on small or rural departments.
“The FOP is committed to helping put on some of this training, and we might have to go on the road with a lot of it, because a lot of these smaller departments don’t have the funds to send their officers to academies to get it,” Ahlbrand said. “If they have to send an officer away for a whole day, they have to find a way to replace them.” Ahlbrand is also a member of the Ferguson Commission.
New POST members
In addition to calling for upgrades to police training, Nixon also announced the nomination of five new members of the POST Commission. They are:
• Rev. Emanuel Cleaver III, the pastor at St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City.
• Paul F. Williams, the chief of the Springfield Police Department.
• Charles “Drew” Juden III, the director of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety.
• Edward Clark, a detective with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and a Marine Corps veteran.
• Jeffrey Hughley, a supervisor for the street crimes unit of the Kansas City Police Department.
The nominees, if confirmed by the state Senate, will bring the POST Commission to full strength of 11 members. Three would be African American, along with one woman.
“Whenever you start talking about dividing Missouri in two, you’re telling people that you don’t really understand how complex Missouri is,” Nixon said. “You have those types of differences. You also have the different agencies that are represented. You also have different regions of the state.”
The commission is limited by a requirement that no more than two of its members can come from the same congressional district. Wilson, of the Ferguson Commission, said the POST make-up highlights an ongoing problem in law enforcement.
“If you need people with subject-matter expertise, we have some limited choices,” Wilson said. “We’ve got some work to do in leadership in law enforcement across the swath of the industry and the state to get the kind of diversity that may reflect gender diversity, socio-economic diversity and sexual orientation in a leadership role like the POST Commission.”
The POST Commission is planning for public hearings as it drafts the new standards.
Governor Nixon’s full remarks to the Missouri Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission as prepared :
Good afternoon. I want to start by thanking Chief Dotson for hosting us. I also want to thank Missouri’s Director of Public Safety, Lane Roberts, a 42-year veteran of law enforcement and former Joplin Chief of Police who has done an outstanding job leading this important department.
We’re also joined today by Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Detective Ed Clark of St. Louis Metro P-D, and Sikeston Director of Public Safety, Drew Juden.
Professional law enforcement today is more demanding than ever – and more important than ever to the safety of our communities and our nation.
Today’s law enforcement officers are on the front lines in the fight against domestic and foreign terrorism. They are called upon to handle crimes and crises fueled by severe mental illness, domestic violence, drug addiction and child abuse. They must confront the harrowing phenomenon of active shooters who indiscriminately harm others. They are also members of their communities, actively involved and engaged in their schools, churches and neighborhoods.
Those who answer this high calling must have a diverse set of skills: on any given day, they face challenges that demand toughness, discipline and courage … but also the compassion of a counselor, the legal acumen of a lawyer, and the discernment of a negotiator.
And while law enforcement officers’ responsibilities have increased, the training standards to keep their skills sharp have not kept pace.
For example, today, Missouri has essentially the same continuing education standards that were in place in 1996 in terms of the number of mandated hours and types of training that officers must receive on an ongoing basis. We all know a lot has changed since 1996.
The brave men and women of law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to protect us and keep our streets safe. We owe it to them – and the citizens they serve – to provide our law enforcement officers with the knowledge and training they need to keep themselves and their communities safe.
Here in Missouri, it is role of the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission, working with the Department of Public Safety, to establish standards for peace officer basic training, instructors, training centers and continuing education.
Additionally, the POST staff help ensure that police academy candidates measure up to the standards required to serve effectively and advance the profession, and investigate allegations of wrongdoing by law enforcement officers.
Today, while some departments already exceed the minimum training standards, we must ensure that Missouri law enforcement statewide has the most modern and effective training to equip our officers for the challenges they face every day.
That’s why today, I am directing Director Roberts and the POST Commission to gather public input and put forward new rules that update and enhance the training that Missouri police officers receive, and to do so no later than December 1st of this year.
I know they are up to the task and will meet this aggressive timeline.
Specifically, I have directed the members of the POST Commission to make changes that ensure that all officers receive ongoing training in three key areas.
First, in the area of tactical training, our goal is to ensure that officers develop the critical decision-making skills that will enable them to employ the most effective tactical approach to any given scenario. That means deescalating volatile situations, correctly assessing threats and interacting with individuals experiencing a mental health or domestic crisis.
The second critical training area is in fair and impartial policing.
Events here in Missouri and across the country have prompted a national dialogue about the need to build greater trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they protect and serve.
Public safety is built on trust; it’s as true for folks in Ferguson as it is for folks in Forsyth. More training in fair and impartial policing will help to strengthen the bonds of trust between officers and the public.
Third, we need a heightened focus on the wellbeing of our police officers – and their families. Day in and day out, doing difficult and dangerous jobs, our law enforcement officers are subject to an enormous amount of stress, in a culture that tends to downplay personal difficulties.
Law enforcement officers are heroes. They’ve dedicated their lives to helping others. But they’re also human. And we need to make sure they have the tools to stay healthy – both mentally and physically.
To add to the strength of this effort, I’m pleased to announce that I am appointing five highly-qualified individuals to serve on the POST Commission, alongside the chairman, Captain Ron Johnson, the commander of Troop C and a 28-year veteran of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
By statute, the Commission must include representatives of law enforcement agencies, a training academy professional and a public member.
As the public member, I am appointing Reverend Emanuel Cleaver IIII of Kansas City, an ordained minister and pastor of one of the largest United Methodist churches in the state of Missouri.
Edward Clark is a detective with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. He joined the St. Louis P-D in 1993, after four years of active duty as a Marine.
I’m also appointing Jeffery Hughley, a sergeant at the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, where he is currently the Supervisor of the Street Crimes Unit/Gang Squad for the Kansas City Police Department.
From Sikeston, I am appointing Charles “Drew” Juden, the Director of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, in which he has served since 1978. Chief Juden, a national and state-certified training instructor, is currently President of the Missouri Police Chiefs Association.
From Springfield, I am appointing Paul Williams, who has been the Springfield Chief of Police since 2010, after serving with the Tulsa Police Department for 29 years.
These outstanding new members will join an equally-qualified and dedicated team of existing members: Diane Scanga, Director of Jefferson College Law Enforcement Academy, Cass County Sheriff Dwight Diehl, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, Livingston County Sheriff Stephen Cox, and Riverside Police Chief Gregory Mills.
In developing these new standards, these leaders will hold a series of public meetings throughout the state to gather input from ordinary citizens, law enforcement agencies, advocacy groups, academics, and other stakeholders.
Before we hear from DPS Director Roberts, I would like to thank the members of the POST Commission for their leadership, and their willingness to serve the people of our state in this vital capacity.
In addition, I want to thank each and every member of Missouri law enforcement for the job you do — each and every day — to preserve the rule of law and protect our citizens’ rights.
You have a difficult job in difficult times. And it is one of the most important — and underappreciated — jobs in America.
I have often said that there are two kinds of people: those who run from danger and those who run toward it.
We send you out at every hour of the day and night to do the work others cannot do: take down the bad guys, stand up for the innocent, and safeguard the basic freedoms we too often take for granted.
On a night when the news has nothing bad to report, most folks might think nothing happened. They have no idea of the blood, sweat and tears poured into “keeping the peace.”
You didn’t choose this line of work expecting a pat on the back or a fat paycheck.
You do it because you believe in serving others.
And at the end of a long shift fueled by coffee and half-eaten meals – when you finally get back home to your loved ones – you know you can go to sleep knowing you have done something important. Something that matters.
To every woman and man who wears the uniform of law enforcement, you honor us with your courage and your professionalism.
You are heroes. On behalf of six million Missourians – thank you.
Together, in partnership with the Missouri POST Commission, we will continue to move law enforcement forward.
