St. Louis Observer: April 1, 2022
Probation & Parole Board sued for civil rights violations; judge approves Normandy debtors prison settlement; SLMPD murder data challenged
Editor’s Note
For this week’s Editor’s Note, we would like to encourage our St. Louis City and St. Louis County readers to take a few moments to review the below sample ballots. This April 5 Election Day not only includes City- and County-wide ballot issues, but also some primaries for area school boards that have seen an influx of racist, conspiracy-fueled candidates who do not want the best for Missouri public school children.
We believe that every Election Day holds the potential to affect lasting change, underscoring the need for a well-informed electorate. Please take a few moments to review the sample ballots for the issues that will be presented to you on Election Day.
In the News
Police, prosecutorial, and judicial accountability
Another person has been murdered at the Bonne Terre prison within the Missouri Department of Corrections, where a severe lack of staffing has led to a series of unmitigated violence in the last year. An inmate sent an anonymous letter to the Riverfront Times in March, also reiterating problems caused by the staffing shortage & the violence occurring within the facility. [Riverfront Times/Ryan Krull]
The Missouri Probation & Parole Board is being sued again over unconstitutional practices, including the re-imprisoning of parolees on alleged technical violations without proper notice, access to counsel, or the consideration of alternatives to further incarceration. More than half of the inmates detained by the Missouri Department of Corrections are believed to be there on probation or parole violations. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tony Messenger]
SLMPD has been accused of fabricating incorrect data reflecting the City’s murder rate over the last two years, including classifying more than three dozen killings as “justifiable homicides.” The ProPublica report released earlier this week revealed that SLMPD may have been using the classification to skirt FBI guidelines for reporting crimes. [ProPublica/Jeremy Kohler]
A Jefferson County man has sued St. Louis County police for use of excessive force, when police tased and then shot him in March 2019. Kevin Butenhoff was experiencing a mental health crisis when County police officers entered his apartment complex, shot him twice with beanbag rounds, used a taser, then shot him with more beanbag rounds, putting the man in a coma. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Robert Patrick]
As a result of the severe understaffing in Missouri state prisons, the Missouri Department of Corrections is allowing nurse practitioners to treat incarcerated patients without a supervising doctor within 200 miles. Rather than paying medical staff a reasonable wage, the DOC is instead bending the rules that ensure safe, appropriate medical care for incarcerated persons. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Kurt Erickson]
Policing statistics have revealed that SLMPD stops Black pedestrians more than two times as often as white pedestrians and stops Black motorists 1.8 times more often than white drivers. St. Louis has more police per capita than any city of similar size, and the City has focused on redirecting emergency calls to more appropriate first responders in order to decrease the number of unnecessary police interactions. [Riverfront Times/Monica Obradovic]
A federal judge has approved a settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the municipality of Normandy, following allegations of targeting Black persons, charging excessive fines, and engaging in unlawful arrest practices. The settlement includes payments to persons detained under this “debtor prison” system and persons who paid fines or fees to the City of Normandy. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Robert Patrick]
Economic development in St. Louis City and County
Gov. Mike Parson is calling for additional funding and resources for high school vocational and career training programs, specifically in relation to the vacant 150,000 open jobs available through the State of Missouri. As college tuition expenses continue to rise, more Missouri high school students are looking to career training programs in order to enter the workforce sooner.[St. Louis Public Radio/Sarah Fentem]
The City Board of Estimate and Apportionment has advanced a $37 million pandemic aid package to North City businesses, but the final plan lacks details of how the funding would be distributed. The Mayor’s Office and City Comptroller Darlene Green have expressed concerns that the package, passed by the Board of Aldermen, does not meet federal guidelines for allocation of funding. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Mark Schlinkmann]
Further reading
St. Louis City voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to weigh in on several ballot initiatives. City voters will decide on Prop R, which includes some ethics reform, and Prop 1, to support capital improvements such as street paving, repairs to firehouses, and updating the City’s 911 system. [St. Louis Public Radio/Rachel Lippmann]
Following a ProPublica report on toxic air pollution hot spots, Missouri cities are demanding that state and federal officials investigate elevated rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma within their communities. The EPA has announced that it has begun the process to launch an air monitoring campaign in the impacted areas. [Missouri Independent/Lisa Song]
A bipartisan House bill seeks to reduce poisonous lead exposure in drinking water in Missouri schools. The bill would require schools to regularly test their water supply and would allocate funding for filters & to remove old coolers where lead is found. [Missouri Independent/Niara Savage and Allison Kite]
Legislative & Legal Update
The St. Louis City Board of Aldermen presently is in recess and will return on Friday, April 18.
St. Louis City Board of Aldermen
BB 119 and BB 125, both introduced by Ald. Todd and Ald. Ingrassia (Ward 6), would repeal the City’s current loitering & panhandling ordinances and establish legal defenses against the charges. These bills have been stalled in the Public Safety Committee since November 16.
BB 150, introduced by Ald. Ingrassia, would establish legal and property rights of unhoused residents living in St. Louis. This bill has been held in the Health and Human Services Committee since February 28.
BB 184, sponsored by Alderman Tom Oldenberg (Ward 16), would distribute a portion of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to SLMPD for equipment and technology. The bill was read for a third time on March 11 and was placed on the Informal Calendar.
Resolution 159, sponsored by Aldermen Sharon Tyus (Ward 1), Jeffrey Boyd (Ward 22), and Pamela Boyd (Ward 27), would resolve that any new or expanded facility for unhoused persons be constructed in the wards that do not already have facilities. This resolution has been stalled in the Health and Human Services Committee since January 14.
Resolution 201, sponsored by Alderwoman Tyus, would declare that the City’s unhoused cause an increase in crime and a decrease in property value, would question the legality of pop-up and emergency shelters, and would encourage further hardship & deprivation to homeless residents. The bill was assigned to the Public Safety Committee on March 4.
Learn more about how a bill becomes a City ordinance here.
State of Missouri
HJR 79, introduced by nine white Republican men, would detrimentally modify the citizen initiative petition process for statewide ballot initiatives, raising the minimum required number of signatures from 5% to 10%, and would require 2/3 vote to pass an initiative instead of the current simple majority. The resolution has been stalled in the State Senate since February 16.
HB 1897, introduced by Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins (D-St. Louis), would establish a Corrections Nursery Program, to keep incarcerated mothers and their infants together. The bill was read for a second time by the Senate on March 31 and was referred to the Seniors, Families, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee for perfection.
HB 1919, also introduced by Rep. Collins, authorizes a tax credit for urban farms located in food deserts and establishes an agricultural outreach program for underserved and underrepresented communities. The bill’s executive session was completed on March 22 and was passed out of committee. The bill was referred to the House Administrative Oversight Committee on March 22.
HB 2627, introduced by Reps. Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City), Raychel Proudie (D-Ferguson), and Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin), would designate February as Black History Month and November as “Native American Heritage Month” in Missouri. The bill was perfected by consent on March 28.
SJR 36, introduced by Sen. John Rizzo (D-Kansas City), would modify the current legislative term limits for Missouri state representatives and senators, from 8 years to 12 years. The bill’s public hearing was conducted on March 1 and has had no further movement in the Senate.
Learn more about how a bill becomes a state law here.
Quote of the Week
Historians often point to Uncle Tom’s Cabin — the classic anti-slavery tome published by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 — as the first great example of book banning in America.
The Southern states banned Uncle Tom’s Cabin because it opposed slavery. I don’t know that angry parents and others accused Stowe of pornography or pedophilia, but the intent was the same as it is in Wentzville today: to protect innocents from absorbing immoral content.
Ray Hartmann, the Riverfront Times