(St. Louis Public Radio) – St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson has canceled a town hall meeting that had been scheduled for tonight.
In a two-page statement, which she released on Twitter, Krewson said she calling off the meeting because the discussions are “happening in the streets and in my inbox and on social media right now. We are listening.”
The meeting was to have been the third of five Krewson has been holding to give residents a chance to talk with her and representatives of various city departments. After assuring people of St. Louis that “I hear you,” Krewson went on to outline two themes she has heard as a result of her observations of the protests since last week when judge Timothy Wilson ruled that former police officer Jason Stockley was not guilty of murder in the fatal shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith, as well as the messages she has received through social media and phone calls.
The first theme she cited is that of “violence, destruction and intimidation.” She noted that people who gather later in the night are taunting law enforcement and sometimes destroying property and that is something she won’t tolerate. Krewson gave a nod to concerns over intimidation tactics the police allegedly used on Sunday night when more than 120 people were arrested by saying, “I want to assure all citizens that complaints of misconduct that have been made are being reviewed by the Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division.”
Krewson said, however that those who serve the policy department dutifully conducted themselves professionally.
The second theme she addresses is that of “action.” Krewson said she is clear that the cause of the protests lies in the region’s legacy of policies that “disproportionately impact people along racial and economic lines. This is not an opinion, this is supported by stacks of numbers. This is institutional racism.”
The letter alludes to plans to expedite equality, but doesn’t give specifics. Instead, Krewson called for a change to the status quo and expresses a desire to move forward. Despite this desire, Kreson said she determined it best to “postpone” the town hall meeting because the discussions are already happening “in the streets and in my inbox and on social media right now. We are listening.”
Republished with permission of St. Louis Public Radio: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/krewson-postpones-town-hall-meeting-says-discussions-are-happening-and-she-hears-them
