On Tuesday night, about a dozen people voiced their concerns to the aldermanic Public Safety Committee regarding how police officers interact with the LGBT community, young black men, homeless individuals and those who have mental illness.
The crowd of 100 people at the Oct. 13 aldermanic hearing on the Civilian Oversight Board nominees gave warm rounds of applause after each person spoke.
Alderman Terry Kennedy, chairman of the committee, told the audience that they normally don’t have applause at public hearings, “but this is a new process.”
The hearing was one step in the process of confirming the seven inaugural members of the Civilian Oversight Board that will review and investigate complaints of police misconduct in St. Louis city. Mayor Francis G. Slay has selected the nominees from about 50 applicants.
The nominees are: neighborhood organizer Ciera Simril, Equal Employment Opportunity investigator Jane Abbott-Morris, retired lawyer Lawrence Johnson, co-founder of the nonprofit Better Family Life Inc. DeBorah Ahmed, Southtown business owner Bradley T. Arteaga, criminal defense attorney Heather Highland and corporate lawyer Stephen Rovak.
Last year, the Ferguson movement pushed the issue of police accountability to the forefront, aiding the advocates who have been fighting for decades to get legislation passed regarding civilian oversight of police.
The mayor has the final say regarding who sits on the board, according to the law passed by the city’s Board of Aldermen on April 20. However, Kennedy told the audience that the mayor can’t make a move until he gets the Board of Aldermen’s approval and confirmation on the nominations.
Kennedy continually told the speakers that their input was crucial. Throughout the past week, the Public Safety Committee has interviewed the nominees. At the public hearing, most people voiced support of the mayor’s selection.
Only one person spoke against a nomination, though she said she represented others who left the same way. Rev. Dinah Tatman, CEO of the Greater New Vision Ministries Inc., said DeBorah Ahmed had an “epic financial conflict of interest” with the mayor and city. Tatman read off an “extraordinary list” of city money that Better Family Life has received since 2003 from city departments, totaling about $5.5 million.
“No one who is the executive director of an entity whose life blood is dependent upon the financial generosity of the city and its mayor can serve without compromise,” on the board, Tatman said.
Tatman demanded that Ahmed be withdrawn from consideration.
Dorothy Dempsey provided a powerful statement about the need for the board. She was a board applicant but was not selected as a nominee.
“We are a world of people who do not realize how greatly our lives are impacted and compromised when we do not require justice for those of us who have been wronged,” she said, “and have no power to help themselves.”
She said that if the “shepherds of our churches,” elected officials and others continue to remain silent, then “there will be no change.”
Richard Buthod said that the Civilian Oversight Board’s charge is not to look at good officers. It is looking at the bad apples, he said. However, he also said, “Good officers do not protect bad officers.”
“We would not have a Civilian Oversight Board if the people didn’t feel a crying need for it,” he said.
John Chasnoff of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression said that throughout the selection process, city leaders have worked with the coalition, which has been fighting for civilian review of police work for many years and helped draft the legislation.
“Although we wouldn’t have picked every candidate ourselves, we believe the board represents a broad balance of interests and concerns,” he said.
Chasnoff said he hoped that the issues raised at the hearing will be helpful to prospective members of board. During interviews, the aldermen asked the nominees if they could be “neutral,” which is important when reviewing cases, he said. But the aldermen also must emphasize to the COB members that they also have the power to be “advocates for change.”
“That has to do with the very important second power of this board, which is to review police department’s policies and practices and make recommendations on those,” he said. “Around the country we’ve seen that that’s one of the major ways that change happens.”
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