The St. Louis County Police Department named Lt. Col. Kenneth Gregory as its first Black chief Tuesday, around six months after he took over as interim chief.
The department was established in 1955, and Gregory is its 10th chief. His predecessor, Chief Mary Barton, was the first woman to serve as the department’s leader.
“With Chief Gregory’s 40 years of experience, he brings an abundance of institutional knowledge to the position.” —Ethical Society of Police
In charge of the appointment, the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners wrote in a statement Tuesday they had “engaged in extensive” conversation about the process and criteria for selecting the chief. The board did not stick to the process for selecting a new chief used previously, which included steps such as public input sessions and top candidate interviews.
“Also, over the past six months, the board had the opportunity to work collaboratively with Chief Gregory on both day-to-day operational matters and long-range strategic decisions,” they wrote. “We were impressed by his collaborative leadership style, his decision-making processes, his community engagement, and his abilities to convert department issues into concrete action items.”
While Gregory was asked to stabilize the department following Barton’s resignation, the police board believes the interim chief went beyond that to grow the organization in a positive direction.
Gregory began his career with the St. Louis County Police on Dec. 2, 1979, as a recruit and was later assigned to the North County Precinct after graduation. He worked as a patrolman there for ten years, and then he was assigned to the West County Precinct.
“With Chief Gregory’s 40 years of experience, he brings an abundance of institutional knowledge to the position,” the Ethical Society of Police wrote in a statement. “Accordingly, we look forward to working collaboratively with him to dismantle many of the practices and policies that have created barriers to employment for minorities as well as damaged relationships within marginalized communities.”
William E. Dailey Jr., ESOP’s general counsel, confirmed Gregory is not a member of ESOP, an association of more than 300 police officers, park rangers and civilians that advocates for racial and gender equity in law enforcement in the city and county. Daily told The St. Louis American this begs the question of whether issues advocated for by the association are on his radar.
“So, Chief Gregory has an opportunity to do some things differently and listen to what the representatives of the minority police officers in St. Louis County are saying in terms of problems, but then also solutions on how the department can be better,” he said.
Daily made clear ESOP isn’t indicting the new chief but rather inquiring about where he stands on these issues because there has not been a lot said.
“And if there’s anything we can remember in this month where a lot of people are celebrating Dr. King, is that Martin Luther King said, ‘In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends,’” Daily said. “And I think that’s really what has been the experience for some people in the department, is that it’s just been silence on these issues.”
Following Tuesday’s announcement, St. Louis County Executive Sam Pagecongratulated the new chief on Twitter, as did the police department.
“Chief Gregory has been acting chief for the past six months, and we look forward to his steady leadership and commitment to our citizens and officers. Congratulations, Chief! ”the department wrote.
Prior to his interim appointment in July, Gregory served as the department’s deputy chief since 2018. Before that, he served as the commander of the Division of Criminal Investigations.
Gregory has also served in several different capacities for the county police, including membership on the County Police Training Committee and the Chief’s Board for hirees. He is a member of the Law Enforcement Officials and the St. Louis County Police Association and an associate member of St. Louis Area Police Chiefs. Gregory is also a member of the National Organization of Black Law enforcement Executives and an Assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
Gregory was not immediately available for comment. The department’s press person said he would be scheduling media interviews later in the week.
But later Tuesday, Gregory did announce the appointment of Lt. Col. Bryan Ludwig as his deputy chief. Ludwig has served as interim deputy chief since Barton’s departure.
Ludwig joined the department in 1996 and previously served in the North County Precinct, the Bureau of Professional Standards, the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy, the Bureau of Drug Enforcement, the Division of Patrol, and is currently assigned to the Office of Chief of Police.
ESOP has previously expressed concerns about Ludwig, who is white, noting he is currently at the center of discrimination lawsuits.
A rocky road
Gregory’s appointment as the first Black chief of the department comes at a time when the agency has faced a myriad of criticism over internal policies and incidents many have called inherently racist.
Lt. Col. Troy Doyle, a Black man, was also up for the promotion to chief with Barton. Following her appointment,Doyle filed a complaint of discrimination against St. Louis County with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights on July 24, alleging he was passed over for the promotion because of his race. On Jan. 22, the commission issued a notice of his right to sue in the matter.
“That lawsuit is still ongoing, and when it’s resolved, the taxpayers will still be left with whatever the fruits of that is—a settlement or a jury verdict,” Daily said. “And so, we can’t look at [Gregory’s] appointment as an ending or as a conclusion. We can look at the appointment as perhaps a next step towards something that’s better. But we would be remiss if we ignore what took place in front of everyone’s eyes with respect to the ordeal that happened with the last selection process and the litigation that came from that selection process.”
Barton was chief for about 16 months and, during that time, was constantly putting out race-related fires.
From facing public criticism for telling the St. Louis County Council she did not believe systemic racism existed within her department to the handling of her brother-in-law, who was a St. Louis County police dispatcher, using a racial slur on the police radio.
In addition, at least two police contract instructors for the St. Louis County and Municipal Police Academy have been fired for allegedly using racially disparaging language since Barton took over.
After the department transferred Officer Shanette Hall following her appearance in a Vice video featuring Black female cops talking about the culture of policing, ESOP’s board voted and declared no confidence in Barton. Just a few days later, so did the St. Louis County Council.
Even so, Gregory’s appointment comes a day after Pageannounced his new chief of staff, Cal Harris, who joins the growing group of Black leaders finding their voice in the region’s local governments.
And while the city continues to also search for its next police chief, St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden postponed his February retirement date.
Mayor Tishaura Jones confirmed earlier this month she wants to scrap the current search for the city’s new police chief after facing difficulties created by a former city leader.
“I only had two white male candidates to choose from and St. Louis is more diverse than white males, our police department is more diverse—there were a lot of diverse candidates within the police department who were kicked out of the first round, so I want to start over to find the right candidate,” Jones told The St. Louis American at the time.
Jones has appointed numerous Black people to leadership positions in her first nine months as mayor. Among those appointments include Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, director of the city’s department of health; the city’s first Black female city counselor, Sheena Hamilton; Vernon Mitchell, chief equity and inclusion officer; and Neal Richardson, executive director of the St Louis Development Corporation.
