Six months after St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones’ administration promised to reconsider its defense of legal doctrines that protect abusive police, it is continuing to defend them, prompting charges of “betrayal” from civil rights lawyers. In campaigning for office, Jones spoke frequently about the need for greater police accountability, citing the deaths of George Floyd in … [Read more...] about City of St. Louis ‘betrays’ its pledge to alter legal positions protecting abusive police, critics say
St. Louis
Wandering cops shuffle between departments, abuse citizens
Timothy Loehmann wanted to be a police officer like his dad. The Independence, Ohio, police department hired him but the chief found that Loehmann “could not cope” with firearms and showed a “dangerous lack of composure.” Independence allowed Loehmann to quietly leave the department. But nearby Cleveland hired Loehmann without checking his background. So it was Loehmann who … [Read more...] about Wandering cops shuffle between departments, abuse citizens
Most St. Louis police officers who kill civilians are hidden from the public eye
Most of the 79 St. Louis area police officers who killed people in recent years have escaped public scrutiny, going unnamed both in media and department incident reports. Nearly half of them still are active officers today. In addition, public knowledge of police killings has significantly decreased, despite increased attention to police killings nationwide. In the City of … [Read more...] about Most St. Louis police officers who kill civilians are hidden from the public eye
Post-Ferguson police reform stalls among racial divisions
ST. LOUIS - Ferguson became the Selma of the 21st century after Officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown seven years ago. Protests transformed Black Lives Matter from a hashtag into the nation’s leading civil rights movement and forged a potent political coalition that elected Black reformers to top St. Louis offices, from prosecutor to congresswoman to mayor. Yet Ferguson … [Read more...] about Post-Ferguson police reform stalls among racial divisions
Post-Dispatch and other Lee papers in Midwest brace for possible sell-off to hedge fund
Union members at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other papers owned by Lee Enterprises Inc. are urging the company to fight hard against a takeover attempt by Alden Global Capital LLC, a hedge fund the unions accuse of “gutting newsrooms.” In a letter Monday to Lee’s board of directors, 12 guilds representing Lee’s unionized newsrooms warned that Alden — which owns papers … [Read more...] about Post-Dispatch and other Lee papers in Midwest brace for possible sell-off to hedge fund