Columnsit James Ingram
Well, it’s about time.
Michael Baxton, the controversial and embattled East St. Louis police chief, has finally resigned after recent scandals (and his own ineptitude) finally caught up with him.
But instead of taking any responsibility for his own demise, Baxton chose to blame the media (specifically, Craig Cheatham of KMOV-TV) for inaccurate reporting which, Baxton alleges, compromised his ability to do his job.
If that’s the case, then I’m guilty as well of reporting the embarrassing facts (during the past two years) regarding Baxton’s abysmal reign as ESL’s top cop. I don’t care which media outlet receives the credit as long as Baxton is gone.
However, let’s examine the facts to determine whether Baxton’s resignation was the result of media spin or, simply, because he did an extraordinarily poor job as police chief.
The facts are that in June 2008, under Baxton’s leadership, 10 cops were hired with two having criminal backgrounds and one wanted on an arrest warrant for domestic battery.
In Craig Cheatham’s recent series on KMOV-TV, it was reported that 25 percent of ESL’s policemen have been charged with violent felonies or misdemeanors. Media spin or reality?
Even Chief Baxton was confronted with an August 15, 1987 arrest in which he was shown in a St. Clair County jail mugshot. Baxton’s reply to Mr. Cheatham: “I can’t explain it.” Nor could he explain being charged with battery back in 1992; and he insists that he has no record.
That would make Baxton the first person I’ve known who can’t remember being arrested, photographed and booked.
Unfortunately, that’s not the first selective lapse in memory that Baxton is guilty of. Remember a couple of years back when Baxton conveniently forgot that he attempted to cover up a drunken driving incident in which one of his detectives (Ricky Perry) was found asleep behind the wheel of an ESL police car in Belleville? Baxton initially denied having visited the scene of the incident or having any role in the attempt to sweep it under the rug. It was later revealed that Baxton lied.
Then recently, after Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. falsely accused St. Clair County State’s Attorney Bob Haida of failing to prosecute ESL murder suspects, the Belleville News-Democrat revealed that Baxton wrote a letter to the Illinois State Police requesting all case files for 2004-2007 (including about 50 murder cases).
Naturally, Baxton conveniently forgot (and denied) ever having written the letter … until copies surfaced! The problem is that Baxton never picked up the files, preventing numerous cases from being actively investigated.
Making matters even worse, State Attorney Haida revealed his own concerns regarding the credibility of several ESL police (including Ricky Perry, who came close to committing perjury in a recent murder case). That created further embarrassment for Baxton and a classic “foot-in-mouth” moment for Mayor Parks.
East St. Louis City Councilman Delbert Marion summarized it best when he stated that this collective display of incompetence “has made East St. Louis the laughingstock” of the metropolitan area.”
Rather than assume responsibility for his actions, Baxton chooses to scapegoat the media for his horrific record. Mayor Parks only exacerbates matters by stubbornly insisting that Baxton did outstanding work, despite the evidence to the contrary.
Parks, as usual, insults the intelligence of ESL voters (and anyone who can read a newspaper) by attempting to divert attention from the reality that Parks picked Michael Baxton without vetting him properly. Mayor Parks gave ESL this loser!
Hopefully ESL voters will remember this when the mayor runs for re-election two years from now.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com.