He replaces William Ray Price, who resigned in early March
County Executive Dr. Sam Page on Monday appointed Brian Ashworth to the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners, filling the vacancy left by William Ray Price when he resigned suddenly in early March.
The St. Louis County Council will decide whether to confirm Page’s appointment of Ashworth to a three-year term.
Ashworth is a Republican and human resources principal at Edward Jones, according to a document submitted by Page to the St. Louis County Council on Monday.
The St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners is a five-member civilian oversight board which is in charge of appointing the police chief, among other things.
Ashworth’s predecessor, Price, is the second county executive appointee to resign from the board in the past six months, citing personal reasons. His resignation followed Dr. L.J. Punch’s resignation, who resigned in late October about a year after they were appointed.
At the time, Punch told media outlets they resigned because of the secrecy surrounding a corporate-led experiment where St. Louis city and county officers would join forces in Jennings and a north St. Louis district.
Ashworth’s appointment came just two days after the Ethical Society of Police held a media conference outside St. Louis County Police headquarters discussing their board’s unanimous vote of no confidence in Chief Mary Barton, who the commission chose as the department’s next police chief in March 2020.
During that press conference, Rev. Darryl Gray, a local criminal justice activist, said the police commission is a wash, asserting the board was put into place to do Page’s bidding.
Page’s office did not respond to a request for comment on that matter.
ESOP released a statement Monday regarding Ashworth’s appointment.
“SLCPD Board of Police Commissioners has another opportunity to do something right. The community and police department is in desperate need of real transformative change and, hopefully, finally having someone with a human resource background involved with the department will promote that drastic change to move the department forward,” they wrote.
In the county’s release about Ashworth, Page wrote that he came recommended based on his business experience and his engagement in the community.
“Brian will join the board as we work to build upon the relationships between law enforcement and the community and to ensure the police department is representative of those it serves,” Page wrote.
Ashworth has been employed with Edward Jones since December 2001. He has previously held positions with Anheuser-Busch and Continental Baking Company.
He is a board member of Pedal the Cause, a past board member of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and is a den and pack leader in the Boy Scouts of America.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Lenoir-Rhyne University and a master’s in business administration from Webster University.
Ashworth did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.