Review board changes draw fire, Maplewood disciplines cops
Of the St. Louis American
Police actions from earlier this year were back in play this week in both the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County.
One case involved a high-speed chase and the other the ongoing elusive pursuit of a police civilian review board.
On Monday, the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression held a press conference on the St. Louis City Hall steps claiming that the Board of Police Commissioners violated state Sunshine Laws and has unlawfully “tinkered” with wording of the document that established a review board back by Mayor Francis G. Slay in April.
Coalition spokesperson John Chasnoff said that two changes “substantially weaken the civilian review board.”
He said when the CRB bill was passed, it stated that members could be fired by the Police Commissioners for “good cause.”
The language of the final general order had those words removed.
“Thus CRB members could be fired for any reason,” said Chasnoff.
He said a second major contradiction involved approval of incorrect minutes from the meeting that involve the ability of CRB members to sit in on witness interviews if they have permission. A sentence that said the CRB could request permission from the chief of police was omitted.
“This is a slap in the face to local governance,” Chasnoff said.
Jamala Rogers, a coalition organizer, added that no staff or budget has been established for the CRB, proving that police commissioners “don’t have a commitment to a CRB or are incompetent.”
“The fox is holding the purse strings of the hen house,” she said.
Action in Maplewood
The high-speed police chase involving several Maplewood Police officers and one city officer that ended with a suspect being beaten on live television has led to punishment for three officers.
According to the Rev. B.T. Rice, board member of the St. Louis County NAACP, one officer has been dismissed, another suspended and one demoted.
This had not been confirmed by the city of Maplewood as of press time.
Rice said the actions “are fair, just and proper” and said other police forces in the area could use the situation as an example of how to handle similar cases.
Rice and other members of the County NAACP had met with Maplewood officials on several occasions and discussed possible job action and the entire incident in which officers beat suspect Edmon Burns after a police chase from Maplewood into St. Louis during the morning traffic rush on January 30.
Burns has since been returned to prison for parole violations that did not stem from the chase.
Maplewood city attorney Craig Biesterfeld said that the punishments have not been finalized and that there could still be appeals by the officers involved.
The County NAACP chapter says it has official documents that back up the claims that the officers do indeed face punishment and that one will be terminated.
State Rep. Esther Haywood (D-Bellerive Acres) said the press conference was held because she is in possession of official documentation from the city of Maplewood confirming the actions.
The officers are reportedly Adam McIntyre and John DeBisschop and Sgt. David Arnett.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer Ray Knight, an African-American city officer involved in the incident, remains on administrative leave while a separate FBI investigation continues.
Burns is black, and the three Maplewood officers involved are white.