There has to be a way forward.
Whatever the resolution of the Michael Brown shooting case, St. Louis will be hard-pressed to recover from the most momentous civil-rights event since the Dred Scott decision of 1857. Its national image is in pieces, and its long-standing racial divide is strained as never before.
But it’s not a time to wring hands; it’s a time to ring in change. This community needs to reset its collective thinking with regard to issues of race relations and law enforcement, and how they are intertwined. And it needs to do something about it.
To that end, I’ll be sharing some ideas as to the way forward in my “Think Again” column in St. Louis Magazine's October issue. For now, here are some possibilities:
• Require by state law that special prosecutors be appointed in all cases of potential felony misconduct on the part of a police officer.
• Revisit state statutes—and local procedures— regarding use of deadly force by police officers.
• Widely publicize deadly force statutes and procedures.
• Establish the same diversity goals and standards for hiring St. Louis County police officers as are now in place for minority contracting.
• Improve pay and working conditions for police officers, with all departments required to maintain hiring standards as vigorous as those of the county police.
• Invest in community policing while establishing some level of residency requirements for officers.
• Mandate reporting and publication of statistics regarding racial profiling.
• Implement civilian review boards regarding community policing, racial profiling, and police-misconduct allegations.
• Encourage use of body cameras for police, and increase deployment of street cameras.
• Convene a Governor’s Conference on Race Relations in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
SLM co-owner Ray Hartmann is a panelist on KETC Channel 9’s Donnybrook, which airs Thursdays at 7 p.m.
