“I don’t know how this thing started,” said Bettye Battle-Turner, about her recent appointment by Gov. Jay Nixon to the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners.
Irene J. Smith might have an idea. In her campaign for mayor, she pointed out that the police board had no women, no residents of North St. Louis and only one black commissioner (Julius K. Hunter) of five.
Smith called for Nixon to replace Chris Goodson, whose term had expired, with a black woman who lives in North St. Louis – a cry that was echoed in a St. Louis American editorial.
Bettye Battle-Turner is a black woman who lives in North St. Louis.
She also is a lawyer, a former municipal judge, a devout daughter of a Pentecostal preacher, a recent foster mom (of seven!) and has extensive administrative experience in non-profits that serve the poor.
“She has great compassion for keeping the community safe and great compassion for justice,” said Circuit Judge Jimmie Edwards, Battle-Turner’s neighbor in North City who swore her into office.
“She has a wonderful intellect. She understands law and understands the community,” Edwards said yesterday morning, after conducting a ceremonial swearing in for the public.
“She has a social consciousness,” Alderman Terry Kennedy said of Battle-Turner.
Kennedy – a veteran advocate for local control of the City police, which if enacted would replace the current State-appointed board – greeted Battle-Turner’s appointment with praise.
“For some time, the police board has not represented the city in terms of race or gender,” Kennedy said.
“For too long, the police board has been dominated by one demographic: white males. This city is much more diverse than that.”
The other board members, besides Battle-Turner and Hunter, are Mayor Francis G. Slay, Vincent J. Bommarito and Todd H. Epsten, who was voted the new board president on Tuesday.
Irene J. Smith had identified the lack of women on the board as a problem, among other reasons, because under the leadership of former Police Chief Joe Mokwa the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department was found to be under-reporting statistics on rape, a violent crime almost always committed against women.
Mokwa has since resigned in the wake of a towing scandal that is under federal investigation, and Daniel Isom was promoted to chief.
Since Battle-Turner lives in his district, state Sen. Jeff Smith had the choice to sponsor her nomination or reject it. Smith had rejected two of former Gov. Matt Blunt’s appointments to the state board of education. He supported Battle-Turner with enthusiasm.
“Given the lapses in judgment that have plagued the department in recent years, she will be a breath of fresh air on the police board,” Smith said.
“Her integrity, wisdom and close attention to detail will help Chief Isom bring the highest level of professionalism and efficiency to the Department.”
History lesson
Battle-Turner becomes the 18th African American to serve St. Louis as a police commissioner. Though the police board was first formed in 1861, according to its website, the first black person (Clifton W.Gates) was not appointed until 1966, followed by Theodore D. McNeal (the first black board president) in 1973.
Before Battle-Turner and Hunter, other recent African-American police commissioners include JoAnn Freeman-Morrow, Susan C.J. Rollins, Mary E. Nelson, the Rev. Maurice J. Nutt, Dr. Leslie F. Bond Sr. and Wayman F. Smith III.
Battle-Turner becomes only the eighth woman ever to serve on the police board. In addition to her, Freeman-Morrow, Rollins and Nelson, previous female police commissioners were Anne-Marie Clarke, Rita Krapf, Suzanne Hart and SaLees Seddon, the first female board member, appointed by Gov. Kit Bond in 1973.
Battle-Turner joins the board its sole elected member, Mayor Slay, who serves in an ex-officio capacity by virtue of being mayor.
Though Battle-Turner said, “I hate politics” and refused to rehash her experiences with Slay and his chief of staff Jeff Rainford, there is a history.
She was a provisional municipal judge, appointed by Mayor Clarence Harmon, when Slay was first elected mayor in 2001. After an interview with Rainford and city counselor Patti Hageman, she said, she was appointed sitting judge.
However, when her term came up in 2005, Slay did not renew her appointment. “I really can’t tell you why,” she said.
Slay’s communications staffer Ed Rhode did not respond to a request to interview the mayor about Battle-Turner and her appointment.
A state legislator who has been critical of Slay told the American that the mayor worked against Battle-Turner’s appointment, but no alarm was raised from various other officials watching the situation in Jefferson City. Smith, who supports Slay, sponsored her appointment after a brief meeting with her and there was no reported opposition in the state Senate.
“I don’t like political negatives,” Battle-Turner said.
“I do what I do and I do it well, and I could care less about politics. Some people thrive on all that – I am not like that.”
Family ties
One issue needed to be addressed to confirm her appointment – that her son Bradford (Brad) Turner is a civilian employee of the police department. Battle-Turner said that since civilian employees are not reviewed by the police board, there is no conflict of interest. (She also has a daughter, Marie “Nikki” Turner, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Children’s Hospital. The siblings live next door to each other, one block away from their parents.)
Battle-Turner has been married for more than 30 years to a veteran of the police department, Fred Turner, who retired as commander of Homicide after more than 36 years on the force.
Her husband said he encouraged his wife to accept the opportunity to serve on the police board once it presented itself, though he admitted he is not looking forward to hearing from friends on the force when they don’t appreciate her decisions.
Both spouses said with confidence that the retired cop would stay out of the way of the police commissioner’s official business, because they have been here before.
“When I was on the bench, we made a deal that we couldn’t discuss work,” Battle-Turner said.
“Some of my cases, I didn’t want to hear his opinion – and he didn’t want to give his opinion.”
Judge Edwards, their neighbor, said that having police work in the family is good background for her.
“She understands the issues associated with police officers and will make sure they receive the necessary things to protect and serve the community as they are sworn to do,” Edwards said.
Yet her legal background – including her work as a judge to form the city’s truancy program – also has familiarized her with the rights of the accused.
“She understands the most problematic sector of the community and their due process and rights,” Edward said.
“She will bring a sense of community – and law and order.”
Battle-Turner said she plans to approach her new responsibility cautiously.
“I am going in with my eyes open and my ears open so I can provide the board with the best service a person of my background can provide,” she said.
“With a police department of this size, there must be problems. I’ll try to figure out what those problems are and apply myself to eliminating or reducing the problems. I intend to study each situation carefully before making a decision.”
How do I get in touch with judge? Betty Battle Turner