Undoubtedly the year 2022 ended on one of the strangest notes in the city’s political history. A few days before Christmas, Alderman Brandon Bosley (Ward 3) recorded a video and posted it to his Facebook account. The video, still up at the time of our publishing, showed Bosley yelling at a woman lying in the snow, seemingly unable to get up. In the video, Bosley is heard referencing an alleged armed robbery by a woman whom he later claimed to police tried to steal his car keys and had a gun.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department not only worked incredibly quickly to prepare a report and probable cause statement, but armed robbery and armed criminal action (ACA) felonies were filed against the woman in record time, less than two days. Remind us – how many unsolved Kia and Hyundai thefts remained unsolved in 2022?
Eight officers were named as responding and/or assisting in the initial incident report. Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office proceeded to file criminal charges and prosecute the woman on the basis of Bosley’s allegations. Apparently, our local law enforcement in District 4 had a slow night on December 22.
But then, some cracks started to appear.
First, local politicos noticed that Bosley’s story to police did not match what he was shouting at the woman in the video he posted, just minutes after the alleged robbery, according to Bosley’s timeline. When you add the complication of unplowed streets shortly after the pre-Christmas snowfall, you find that Bosley’s time calculus comes up short.
At one point in the video, Bosley claims that the woman approached his car at a stoplight, but he later claims to police that he was walking to his car when she approached him. Some have suggested that the alderman may have hit the woman with his car. Considering Bosley’s pro-Zooming-while-driving stance from March 2022, this would not be surprising. The alderman doesn’t personally have the best history of being a safe driver or even a supporter of safe driving.
The woman was initially held on a no-bond order because Bosley appeared in court and told Judge Craig Higgins, under oath, that he was “afraid” for his safety. More than a week passed, and the woman was forced to spend the Christmas holiday in jail, away from her family. After the woman found a new lawyer and a new bond hearing was held, she was finally released on her own personal recognizance with no cash bail ordered. Evidence was requested by the woman’s attorney, with the charges against the woman ultimately being withdrawn by an assistant circuit attorney last Friday.
Second, Bosley made a series of bizarre statements to local TV stations, claiming that he would “be the richest man in the entire Northern Hemisphere” and that he’s “taking your job. [He’s] taking everything you ever worked for,” and threatening to take city employees’ kids’ college tuition, if charges were filed against him.
He initially told KSDK one thing, and he shared a different story with KMOV. And then Bosley said something very curious in another interview with KSDK: “This woman tried to insinuate I hit her with my car.” Then, Bosley pivoted hard and began to bizarrely claim that he was being “railroaded” because he opposed city/county merger efforts from 2019.
The EYE has learned that SLMPD may now be considering additional charges – this time, against Bosley. Bosley’s Trumpian response to local media coverage, in addition to the now-dismissed criminal charges, seems to support that possibility.
We will keep an EYE on this story as more facts are revealed.
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In the meantime, perhaps the rest of the Board of Alderman would be willing to reconsider the existence and purpose of the city’s Chapter 353 “urban redevelopment corporations.” As recently raised with the Midtown Redevelopment Corporation’s plans to approve construction of a new QuikTrip, these “353s” are able to evade public accountability by awarding up to a 25-year, 100% tax abatement to a developer without aldermanic approval, as is typical in St. Louis.
Considering the city’s recent tax incentives-related scandal and subsequent associated federal felony convictions, we’re a little surprised that no alderman has filed legislation to address this clear pathway to abatement abuse.
On a similar note — the EYE foresees another political campaign. EYE-colytes will recall in our December 10 column, when we shared our observations of Alderwoman Sharon Tyus (Ward 1) and her newfound affinity for fire and police pensions. At that time – and at the time of submission – Tyus had not filed to run for her new ward seat, but we suggested that she was probably strongly considering a run.
While we recognize that Tyus typically waits until the last possible minute to file her Board of Elections paperwork, we had a sneaking suspicion that Tyus – based on her side activities – was considering a run for president of the Board of Aldermen. The alderwoman picked a fight with every citywide elected official before the end of the year, and she repeated SLMPD talking points on unhoused persons, violent crime, and preserving the status quo regarding social equity issues. She took misogynist digs at both Board President Megan Green and Mayor Tishaura O. Jones
Someone is going to court the St. Louis Police Officers Association endorsement and we know that President Green certainly will not!
Tyus all but confirmed her plans to run for Board President to KSDK earlier this week, telling KSDK “I’m way more qualified than [Board of Aldermen President] Megan Green. I might be running for the President of the Board.”
We were really hoping to see Tyus retire and step aside so that a new leader could have an opportunity. But St. Louisans seemingly will not get some respite, at least not before “Aldergeddon” in March.
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He may not live or work in St. Louis, but the Post-Dispatch’s editorial editor Tod Robberson has been making efforts to secure his legacy elsewhere since this city is increasingly not interested in his mean spirited shenanigans.
When he’s not belittling Black women and actively helping run a beleaguered newspaper into the ground, Robberson apparently has been supporting opposition efforts to a Virginia university’s efforts to address its reform of structural racism. Last summer, the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) “student newspaper,” The Cadet, announced that Robberson had joined its foundation as a “director-at-large.” The term “student newspaper” is used loosely here, as the paper is not directly affiliated with or published by the university, but rather is funded by an alumni non-profit entity that “restarted” the paper in May 2021 after a 27-year absence. Robberson has directed The Cadet Foundation since August 2021.
As The Cadet is only tangentially affiliated with the university, it’s safe to say that the paper reflects the views of the VMI student body and alumni, within the perspectives offered by The Cadet Foundation. So, you can imagine how the EYE found Robberson’s role in The Cadet’s loud participation in calling for the reversal of VMI’s diversity initiatives led by the school’s first Black superintendent, retired Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins. A network of angry white men, mostly VMI alumni, launched a petition drive and lawsuit in response to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the country’s oldest military university. Not surprisingly, all of this is taking place right in the heart of the Confederacy, less than a mile from the grave of the treasonous Robert E. Lee.
The source of the alumni and The Cadet’s anger? The puzzlingly-incorrect position that the consulting firm leading VMI’s DEI reforms was “caused” by critical race theory. And because there is an inkling of CRT involved, the proposals to expand diversity on campus have been deemed as “killing” the school – and of course, there is the St. Louis connection with the Post-Dispatch’s own Robberson, amongst the charge.
Instead of acknowledging and celebrating VMI officials’ recognizition of the intersections of its history and racism, especially in the context of the university’s Confederate history, Robberson – through his involvement with The Cadet – has become the mouthpiece for opposition to diversity and equity in a publicly-funded university. While VMI tries to change, Robberson has lent his name, and admittedly impressive journalism resume to the cause of continued racism.
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Finally, we want to acknowledge the execution of Amber McLaughlin, the first transgender woman to be executed in the United States and the first person to be executed in the U.S. in 2023. McLaughlin was convicted in 2006 by a St. Louis County jury, prosecuted by the notorious “Shadow of Death” former prosecutor Bob McCulloch. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on McLaughlin’s death sentence, so former judge Steven Goldman took the highly unusual step to override the jury’s deadlock and imposed capital punishment at his own discretion. This practice, called “judicial override,” is outlawed in most states; only Missouri and Indiana allow for a judge to impose a death sentence when a jury is deadlocked on the issue. All other states require a jury’s unanimous decision to sentence a defendant to death. We agree with Cong. Cori Bush’s position that, “The death penalty is archaic, barbaric and cold-hearted; it destroys families and communities and its abolition is long overdue.”
We lift up not only Amber and her family, but victim Beverly Guenther and her family as well.
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” – Mohandas Gandhi
