Paul Sableman via Flickr
As first reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a series of complaints reveal allegations of St. Louis County police officers loitering and covering an office security camera while overseeing MetroLink stations and trains. Here's what you need to know:
MetroLink and its affiliated public transit systems don't have their own police force. The MetroLink is overseen by the Bi-State Development Agency, who contracts law enforcement officers from St. Louis County, St. Louis City, and St. Clair County. St. Louis County is the lead law-enforcing agency in this contract. Other large cities, such as D.C., Atlanta, and Dallas, have their own public transportation police forces.
Allegations include sleeping inside station offices and covering cameras. According to documents from the Bi-State Development Agency, a Homeland Security officer filed complaints regarding county police officers congregating in the North Hanley substation for extended periods of time, as well as "lounging/sleeping." There were also reports, including one from 2015, of officers covering that substation's office security camera. One complaint from February of this year states that a piece of paper stayed in place for six days before it was removed. "The functionality and public safety effect provided by the camera was negated by the actions of the SLCPD MPU Officer," the report reads.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar defends the officers. Belmar says he believes the officers covered cameras because they felt "it was an affront to them. They felt indignant. I'm not saying that's 100 percent right... I just think that's what their opinion of it was is 'Why are we being monitored here at our offices and to what end?'" Moving forward, he says, the camera should be taken down or given a switch to only be turned on when detainees are inside the office. Belmar also emphasizes that Metro must cooperate with county police to resolve these public safety issues. Overall, Belmar says, "I don't expect [the public] to understand all the politics behind it, but I do want them to understand that there is quite a bit that we have been working together to try and resolve these issues for only one reason, and that's because of the riders."
The St. Louis County Police Association called for the resignation of Metro Public Safety Chief Richard Zott. In response to the association's call for Zott's resignation, Metro provided SLM with this statement: "It is unfortunate that the focus has shifted away from the main topic—keeping the transit riding public safe. In May 2017, we received a request from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for records under the Missouri Sunshine Law. We complied with that request. Our priority continues to be the safety of our passengers and our employees. The transit rider and the entire community expect no less."
Zott emphasizes that public safety is his No. 1 priority. "Regardless of what goes on in the media, still our focus is public safety and providing a safe environment for passengers on our trains and buses," he tells SLM. "We intend to work with [St. Louis County Police], as we've worked with them in the past as long as I've been here, and try to work collaboratively and collegiately with them."
Other officials seem to be pointing fingers. Bi-State Development's chairman and former St. Louis City Mayor Vince Schoemehl called for Belmar's resignation, to which Belmar replied, "I'm not going anywhere." Schoemehl also singled out St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger, who then named Bi-State CEO John Nations as the responsible party.
The St. Louis County Council has called for an external investigation into its MetroLink policing. The group made the vote this Tuesday at a council meeting to follow up on the allegations.
