No matter how one tries to clean it up, spin it, suppress it or lie about it, the facts are irrefutable and compelling.
-St. Louis City police are responsible for more killings per capita than any of the 100 largest police departments in the nation. – Jamala Rogers
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is corrupt, violent and racist. Further, it is incapable of self-correction. The description and the prognosis require acknowledgment first, then an appropriate response. More police to address any situation is an illogical and ineffective short-term solution.
What do we know about the SLMPD? When I say “know” I’m referring to empirical data because in the white world of public opinion, Black experiences with the police are not totally legit. We found that out in the late 1990s with Driving While Black complaints. We were told our Black imaginations were running wild. Once a law was passed to collect the hard data on police stops, it confirmed that it was the police who were running wild.
Here’s what we know:
-St. Louis has more police per capita than most cities of its size in the country. With a force of about 1,600, we have 38 cops per 10,000 citizens.
-St. Louis cops have persistently stopped more Black motorists than whites since data collection by the Missouri attorney general started in 2000.
-St. Louis City police are responsible for more killings per capita than any of the 100 largest police departments in the nation.
-SLMPD failed to share their police-involved shootings investigations with the Civilian Oversight Board, an independent investigative body of citizens that reviews complaints about the police.
-Black residents were subjected to brutal force four times more often than white residents.
Yet another scathing study was recently released by the Center for Police Equity, which looked at racial disparities over a 7-year period of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. For most Black people who witnessed, or have been victimized by this racially targeted and ruthless policing, there was not much in the way of surprises. We live it, see it, breathe it and endure it. Have done so for decades.
It’s why informed St. Louis voters elected a trifecta of change—a mayor, a prosecutor and a comptroller. Over half of our city revenue goes to public safety with minimal benefit to the public. People are definitely not feeling the safety part. All three of these elected officials have authority over major parts of the solutions.
The common demand by voters was to transform public safety by any means necessary, so that it encompasses a humane and just approach. This means less police and punishment and more services and programs to meet the needs of our citizens.
Enough of reports about our lived reality, about the brutal nature of police and criminal justice systems upon our families and communities. We want a coordinated, holistic plan that first and foremost respects Black Lives.
Our hard-earned tax dollars must be re-imagined, disinvested, re-allocated or invested–depending on the issue—to carry out a transparent strategy that builds inclusive, secure and viable neighborhoods.
Racial disparities in police are an obvious problem. The solutions are equally as obvious, but they will take thoughtful leadership and engaged citizens holding one another accountable to make a decisive and powerful breakthrough. No more studies on the problem. Let’s start studying the impact of the solutions.