St. Louis Observer: September 23, 2022
Police challenge to oversight board could have statewide impact; hearing set to examine wrongful conviction of Lamar Johnson; St. Louis Realtors apologize for participating in housing discrimination
Editor’s Note
In this week’s Editor’s Note, we encourage our readers to consider the definition of violence in all of its forms - physical, emotional, psychological, mental, financial, sexual, and cultural:
“There is no life to be found in violence. Every act of violence brings us closer to death. Whether it's the mundane violence we do to our bodies by overeating toxic food or drink or the extreme violence of child abuse, domestic warfare, life-threatening poverty, addiction, or state terrorism.” - bell hooks
In the News
Police, prosecutorial, and judicial accountability
A lawsuit filed by the St. Louis Police Officers Association and the Ethical Society of Police to strike down the reformed Civilian Oversight Board could have statewide implications. A 2021 state law created the “Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights,” which bestows special privileges to police that override civilians’ civil rights. Board Bill 47, which added “teeth” and accountability for the Civilian Oversight Board, directly challenges this state law. [Missouri Independent/Rebecca Rivas]
A final hearing has been set for December 12 for Lamar Johnson’s liberation from a 1995 wrongful conviction. Judge David Mason of St. Louis City Circuit Court will hear the motion to vacate Johnson’s conviction. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Taylor Tiamoyo Harris]
A right-wing extremist group, “Freedom Principle MO,” is demanding that Gov. Mike Parson install an assistant attorney general in the office of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner - and for no other elected prosecutor in the state. The targeted move would allow Attorney General Eric Schmitt to replace Gardner’s office on felony prosecutions and would override the will of St. Louis voters. [St. Louis Record/Juliette Fairley]
The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into hiring practices within the Kansas City Police Department, following ongoing complaints of racism and harassment. Black officers have reported being called racial slurs and being disproportionately disciplined by white supervisors. Less than 12% of KCPD is Black and nearly 20 officers have left the department because of racial discrimination. [KCUR/Celisa Calacal]
The municipal government of Kansas City does not have local control of its police department - or its budget. By state law, the city must spend at least 20% of its total revenue on the police department, but the city does not know how funds are generated or where those public dollars go. On November 8, voters across the state will have the opportunity to decide whether Kansas City must give 25% of its total revenue to KCPD, nearly a $40 million increase. [The Kansas City Beacon/John Merchant]
Economic development & housing
The St. Louis Realtors Association has issued a public apology to Black St. Louisans for decades of participation in housing discrimination and racist policies. A plan with 22 “initiatives” was included with the apology, some of which have already been achieved by other governmental institutions, and none of which include reparations or direct assistance to Black St. Louisans most impacted by these discriminatory policies. [St. Louis Public Radio/Andrea Y. Henderson]
Further reading
A heavily-redacted, 900-page FBI file revealed that federal law enforcement was investigating Ferguson activist Darren Seals before his death in 2016. Seals, who was found murdered in his car, was a national figure within the Ferguson Uprising movement and had been “investigatively detained” during a municipal traffic stop - at the request of the FBI. The local FBI field office recommended semi-annual reviews of Seals, who the FBI referred to as a “self-described revolutionary who has espoused somewhat militant rhetoric and has access to weapons.” His murder has not been solved. [Riverfront Times/Ryan Krull]
Beyond the Paywall
To read these below articles in full, please visit SLPL.org and access these articles through the Digital Content tab. St. Louis City & County residents can read these publications free using their library cards.
“$11 million in abandoned buildings blight St. Louis County. Council disagrees on a fix,” by Kelsey Landis, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Preliminary injunction postpones meetings for St. Louis police and jail reform boards,” by Taylor Tiamoyo Harris, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Legislative Update
St. Louis City Board of Aldermen
BB 26 and BB 29, sponsored by Ald. Megan Green (Ward 15), would put before City voters the ballot issue of enacting a surcharge on developers who reduced the number of units for housing rehabs and redevelopment. The bills were assigned to the Neighborhood Development Committee on May 13 and have made no further movement since.
BB 87, sponsored by Ald. Pamela Boyd (Ward 27) and Ald. Carol Howard (Ward 14), would add a new police district to cover Lambert International Airport, raising the number to 7 total in the City of St. Louis. The bill was assigned to the Public Safety Committee on September 16.
Learn more about how a bill becomes a City ordinance.
Quote of the Week
When we look at the coal-burning power plants in Missouri, all of which are leaking, and we look at all the things in that runoff, like arsenic, there’s no doubt. We know how it affects the nervous system; it causes heart and kidney polyps. We look at the fact that these sites don’t comply with federal regulation. They need to hear our voices. The fossil fuel industry has had an especially powerful grip on Missouri.
Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01), in an interview with The Nation on her Green New Deal for Cities legislation