The website of the Fraternal Office of Police (FOP) boasts a big win: the death of the residency requirement that police officers must live among the citizens who pay their salaries. The official publication of the police, The Gendarme, also seized on its bragging rights.
Meanwhile, the community’s score card doesn’t look as good. The FOP bucked the overwhelming and persistent desire of taxpayers to have police live in the city that financially supports them.
Ron Oldani, president of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, thanked the police board colonel, Mayor Francis Slay, Police Chief Joe Mokwa, Gov. Matt Blunt and the rest of the good ole boy’s network for their efforts in disrespecting the wishes of citizen-voters, manipulating legal loopholes and navigating through legislative landmines to reach their goal.
His praise for these men got so syrupy sweet I expected to read that the deal was sealed with a kiss.
The St. Louis Police Department, though spending one-third of the city’s budget, is under the authority of the governor. He, in turn, appoints the Police Board of Commissioners, which does the bidding of the mayor, the chief, the FOP and everybody else – except us.
City Democrats had plenty of opportunities to take the St. Louis Police Department out of the governor’s control. Their short-sighted notion was that the office would always be under the control of a Democratic governor. Now Matt “Machiavelli” Blunt is on a steamroll, and black folks, the poor, the differently-abled and the elderly are in the way.
With the defeat of residency rule, the theme song for the FOP may very well become M.C. Hammer, “You can’t touch this!”
As for the street cops who think our neighborhoods and schools aren’t worthy of their residency, we can expect a you-all-can’t-tell-us-what-to-do attitude from them. Southsiders, who often enjoyed quicker and better responses than the North Side, are now complaining about their police service.
This development makes the importance of community control of the police even more necessary. Last week, Ald. Terry Kennedy introduced Board Bill 69, which establishes citizen oversight of the police. The fight to maintain the elements of an effective bill will now escalate.
Citizen oversight is no silver bullet for the problem of bullets, batons and boots that too many St. Louisans face at the hands of rogue cops. The civilian oversight board, although advisory in nature, will have the responsibility of investigating citizens’ complaints against the police in a way that Internal Affairs never would or could.
Such a board must be independent from the political strings of those in power. It must have subpoena power to interview witnesses and secure documents pertinent to the complaint.
As someone who has diligently worked on the concept that led to a formal bill, I know the bill has limitations. Still, if it were to pass, history would be made that would allow a peep-hole glimpse into the department’s secret operations.
Board Bill 69 is the only game in town. It’s our only hope to give citizens some accountability over the police.
In his testimony during an aldermanic hearing on civilian oversight, Attorney Lennox Hinds described police as the only public servants to whom we give unbridled power to be judge, jury and executioner (although not always in that order).
Let’s make this glimmer of hope for a civilian oversight board become a sunburst of democratic participation. The mayor and alderpeople must hear from us that we expect the same support they gave the (wo)men in blue.