On Saturday, then-Major Daniel Isom facilitated his second job fair as a preventive measure against crime in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood. On Monday, he was named the 33rd chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
“We need more police officers like him,” Cheryl Washington said after leaving the job fair Saturday at Pierre Laclede Elementary School.
Washington praised the community outreach of Isom, age 41, who said he will lead the department in a community-involved direction.
Jody Squires, an educator and program leader with the University of Missouri Extension, said she knew 10 years ago there was something special about Isom.
“He worked with us when we had burglaries, and he was genuinely concerned about what was happening in the community,” Squires said.
Isom told the American, “We cannot be a success without a strong relationship with the community.”
Isom’s community-oriented approach played a part in his being selected as chief. Candidates also had to be cleared of any connection to the tow scandal that is the subject of a federal investigation. He was awarded the first-ever three-year contract for a chief, which will have two one-year options.
The Board of Police Commissioners said it came up with the contract to implement accountability (with regular six-month reviews), but expressed full confidence in Isom.
“We haven’t had a lot to smile about recently, and right now we’ve got a lot to smile and grin about,” said Chris Goodson, police board president.
Goodson and his fellow police commissioners (including Mayor Francis G. Slay) seek to improve the public image of the department after the towing scandal added a federal investigation and public outrage to a list of community complaints.
Those grievances include high crime and murder rates, charges of police brutality, life-threatening vehicle chases, police-on-resident shooting incidents and State control of the City police.
Goodson and the other police commissioners, except for the mayor, are appointed by the governor of Missouri. A bill to introduce Local Control of the department is introduced perennially in the state Legislature and goes nowhere.
Isom said he wants an independent entity to investigate police shootings and other uses of deadly force and wants to improve training and policies that can lead to corruption.
“It’s important and prudent for the police department to have an objective viewpoint, an outside, independent source with a fresh set of eyes for improvement,” Isom said.
Many proponents of Local Control viewed the towing scandal as clear evidence that a change in governance is needed.
“The real and perceived problems within the department will only resolved with Local Control and accountability,” Comptroller Darlene Green said in a statement on the new chief.
Eddie Simmons is president of the Ethical Society of Police, an organization for black cops, which had endorsed Col. Reggie Harris for chief.
“Col. Harris was the number one ranking African American on the force, so it was a matter of protocol, but Isom is an excellent guy for the job,” Simmons said.
Simmons said his main concern was racism in the department, especially the academy n which he sees at work in the nature of Isom’s appointment.
“Why now a contract with a black man? Things came up in the past, and there wasn’t a contract. That puts him under the microscope,” Simmons said.
“But it won’t hurt him because he’s brilliant, and no one can take that from him.”
Isom holds a doctorate in criminology and criminal justice from UM-St. Louis, which ranks among world leaders in the field.
“He is a bright man who is a hard worker who has vision for what he wants to accomplish that’s commensurate with what a chief should do,” said UMSL associate professor David Klinger, who supervised Isom’s dissertation in criminology.
Isom serves as an adjunct professor, teaching criminology and public safety courses at St. Louis Community College.
Isom also holds a masters degree in public administration from Saint Louis University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Police Executive Forum Senior Management Institute.
A 20-year veteran of the police force, he has worked in many areas, including Internal Affairs, Juvenile, Detective Bureau and the police academy.
Along with the job fair, his community projects include an adult basketball league that requires life-skills training, and an initiative with the probation and parole board to help supervise high-risk parolees and reduce recidivism.
Isom grew up in the Penrose neighborhood and still resides in the city.
