The St. Louis Observer: July 31, 2021
CDC eviction moratorium set to expire with no regional or national plan; St. Louis County Council enables mob rule; wrongfully-convicted man settles for $6.6 million following prosecutorial misconduct
Editor’s Note
Things are not OK in St. Louis right now.
Earlier this week, a violent mob of white people flooded the St. Louis County Council chambers to vocalize their baseless anti-science beliefs and to verbally and physically assault the highly-qualified individuals who stood in their way: County Executive Dr. Sam Page, an anesthesiologist, and acting County Health Director Dr. Faisal Khan.
Racist slurs, degrading insults, and other Republican talking points were hurled especially at Dr. Khan, who was present at the meeting to answer questions about the countywide mask mandate to slow the spread of the rising Delta variant. After his departure from Tuesday’s meeting, Dr. Khan said:
“On more than one occasion, I was shoulder-bumped and pushed. As I approached the exit and immediately outside the chambers, I became surrounded by the crowd in close quarters, where members of the crowd yelled at me, calling me a “fat brown cunt” and a “brown bastard.” After being physically assaulted, called racist slurs, and surrounded by an angry mob, I expressed my displeasure by using my middle finger toward an individual who had physically threatened me and called me racist slurs. …. I have to say, however, that when faced with the racist vitriol that Councilman [Tim] Fitch has been privately and publicly stoking against me since my appointment, I cannot say I am sorry.”
The behavior of the frenzied white suburbanites - some County residents, others seemingly not - was openly supported by Democratic Council Chairwoman Rita Heard Days, who dismissed Dr. Khan’s account of his treatment, instead asserting that the mob was “simply exercising their right to not believe what he was saying, and it could have come across as intimidation.” In her interview with the St. Louis American, Chairwoman Days also claimed to have never heard the term “dog whistle” until this week.
The intentional obtusity by elected officials, Black and white alike, has launched the St. Louis metropolitan region into COVID chaos while the Delta variant ravages Missouri. Even the widely unpopular Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed felt compelled to chime in, indicating his agreement with the science-deniers who attended the County circus and claiming that the Mayor’s executive order for the mask mandate “is an illegal money grab...an attempt to take advantage of this public health crisis and claim authority and powers that are clearly not granted in the City Charter or by any law.”
Of note, President Reed supported the same executive order entered by his political ally and previous Mayor Lyda Krewson, when she implemented the mask mandate and lockdowns last year.
The five County councilmembers who voted to repeal the mask mandate - namely Chairwoman Days and Councilmembers Tim Fitch, Ernie Trakas, Mark Harder, and Shalonda Webb - stated that they did not take issue with the mask mandate itself, but rather, how the mandate was implemented by County Executive Dr. Page.
All five councilmembers openly admitted during the hearing that they chose to put politics and personal grudges over the health and safety of their constituents. In doing so, they have opened the door a bit wider for the Delta variant to spread within their districts, which already are some of the lowest-vaccinated and hardest-impacted areas of the metropolitan region.
In the News
CDC eviction moratorium ends today with no regional plan
The Center for Disease Control’s nationwide eviction moratorium ends at 11:59 p.m. on July 31, causing significant concern for tenants who are behind on rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [KMOV/Kim St. Onge]
In response to the expiring moratorium and inaction by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones has allocated $2.7 million of City funds to eviction prevention services, including housing support, emergency shelters, and legal aid for housing court. “These much-needed funds have been tied up by the president of the Board of Aldermen. But while he's obstructing these funds, the people of our city can't wait,” Mayor Jones said during an interview Thursday. [St. Louis Public Radio/Sarah Fenske]
Police & prosecutorial accountability and transparency in the St. Louis area
St. Louis County police chief Mary Barton has retired after less than two years in the position and after receiving a $290,000 settlement. Barton previously had claimed that she was the victim of discrimination, and she is required to dismiss her Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint as part of her settlement with the County. She has been replaced by Lt. Col. Kenneth Gregory, who will become the first Black person to lead the St. Louis County Police Department since its inception. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Katie Kull, Erin Heffernan]
St. Louis County has settled a $6.6 million lawsuit with Lawrence Callanan, a man who was wrongfully convicted by former St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Bob McCulloch. Investigation of Callanan’s prosecution revealed significant prosecutorial misconduct and the concealment of “favorable, material evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Kurt Erickson]
More than 250 individuals detained on federal felony charges have been relocated to Indiana and Kentucky jails following the closure of the St. Louis City Medium Security Institute, also known as the “Workhouse.” St. Charles County also plans to relocate 60 federal detainees due to staffing problems at their county facility. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Robert Patrick, Rachel Rice]
Practical solution proposed to tackle overcrowding at City Justice Center, prosecutorial abuse of grand jury system
The head of the St. Louis City Public Defender’s Office has offered a solution to the ongoing issues plaguing the St. Louis City Circuit Attorney’s Office: stop filing criminal complaints in cases where Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner intends to seek a grand jury indictment. The current process implemented by the Circuit Attorney’s Office, predicated on early arrests (oftentimes without a bond set) and months-long delays in preliminary hearings, has created constitutional violations and overcrowding in the City Justice Center, among other things. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Tony Messenger]
Environmental advocates win fight against Spire pipeline expansion through North County, sound alarms on climate change-fueled flash flooding in North City, County
Spire’s plans for its proposed “STL Pipeline,” which would cut through North St. Louis County, have been jeopardized after a three-judge panel determined there was “plausible evidence of self-dealing.” In order for the Federal Energy Regulation Commission to approve the installation and operation of a pipeline, a company must demonstrate that a pipeline “is or will be required by the present or future public convenience and necessity.” [Missouri Independent/Allison Kite]
Concrete channels rerouting the River Des Peres through parts of North County and St. Louis City have created severe flash flooding concerns for area flooding and environmental experts. St. Louis-area creeks have been measured to rise as much as 10 feet in an hour, and climate change, coupled with the removal of natural river bends in favor of the straight concrete river “beds,” threatens neighborhoods and municipalities with increased flash flooding, vehicle and property damage, and the displacement of persons living along the once-natural river. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Bryce Gray]
Further reading
Hillvale Apartments in North St. Louis City is accused of forcing tenants to live in uninhabitable conditions while continuing to receive federal HUD funding and ignoring continuous complaints. Some tenants have complained of sickness stemming from unmitigated mold and sewage backups in their bathtubs and toilets. [Real STL News/Aminah Ali]
Governor Mike Parson has joined other Republicans, including insurrectionist Senator Josh Hawley, in calling for the Supreme Court to end the landmark case, Roe v. Wade. In a move reminiscent of antebellum Southern governors, Parson and GOP leaders have requested that the laws governing women’s autonomy be left up to the individual states. [Missouri Independent/Jason Hancock]
In a big loss for both the Attorney General’s Office and Missouri taxpayers, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the State to reimburse 16 attorneysm representing the League of Women Voters and the A. Phillip Randolph Institute, more than $1 million for legal fees accrued in holding the State accountable for its 2018 violations of the National Voter Registration Act. The National Voter Registration Act requires states to offer residents the opportunity to register to vote whenever someone applies for a new or renewed driver’s license or state ID - requirements that the State was found to have violated. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Kurt Erickson]
New legislation has changed the rules for mandated reporting of unaccompanied teenagers, which previously required service providers to report parents for abuse or neglect simply because their teenagers choose not to live at home. The rule change enables nonprofit organizations, shelters, and drop-in services providers, who previously were required to report homeless teenagers, to avoid the risk of placing homeless teenagers into the foster care system. [Missouri Independent/Rebecca Rivas]
Missouri veterans’ homes in Bellefontaine Neighbors and other parts of the state face 100% staff turnovers and more than an 80% drop in state funding since 2006. With no mention of raising wages or employment benefits for nursing home staff, the Missouri Veterans Commission stated that it is requesting from the state $5 million in immediate funding and $33.2 million in additional funding. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Kurt Erickson]
Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office filed a lawsuit against St. Louis City and St. Louis County for their mask mandates, and its legal and procedural errors were more noteworthy than the content of the filings. Filed in St. Louis County, the suit included a number of false claims about COVID-19 in the metropolitan region and lacked a number of procedural hurdles, including establishing jurisdiction over St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones for her executive order of the mask mandate in St. Louis City. [Missouri Independent/Rudi Keller]
A Missouri House committee has requested copies of emails exchanged between sitting Republican state legislators and the owner of Circle of Hope Girls Ranch, Stephanie Householder, charged alongside her husband with 101 felonies related to child abuse and neglect at their boarding school. Twenty-four girls were removed from the Christian boarding school last August following a Missouri State Highway Patrol investigation, and public records have revealed regular contact between Representatives Mike Stephens of Bolivar and Sandy Crawford of Buffalo and Householder, during and after the criminal investigation. [Missouri Independent/Tessa Weinberg]
O’Fallon City Council has voted to hold a hearing to determine the impeachment of Councilwoman Katie Gatewood, who attempted to launch an investigation into the background of the city’s now-resigned police chief. Gatewood cited allegations against former police chief Philip Dupuis, brought to her attention by police department whistleblowers and fellow officers. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Uncredited staff reporter(s)]
Quote of the Week
“As a sitting member of Congress it’s our duty, it’s my duty to make sure I’m representing everyone in my district, and for me that means doing all that I can for everybody in St. Louis, Missouri, but starting with those that have the very least.”
Congresswoman Cori Bush, on her demonstration outside of the U.S. Capitol, calling public attention to the end of the eviction moratorium and demanding that President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer take action in their respective branches of government to extend the moratorium. Congress adjourned for its six-week recess yesterday as the moratorium, which has prevented landlords from evicting tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to expire this evening at 11:59 p.m.