Hear more about the state takeover of the police department on The 314 Podcast.
The bill to return control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to a board appointed by Missouri’s governor has drawn fierce opposition from city leaders, who note that it could amount to a cash grab by police—and give unions power over their own raises.
If state Rep. Brad Christ’s bill becomes law, the department would again answer to a board of commissioners. The mayor gets one seat. Another would be appointed at the sole discretion of the governor. The other three would also be chosen by the governor, but for those, he must choose within a tightly restricted pool: Four nominees come from the unions representing SLMPD officers, and one from the mayor.
The bill heads to the Senate this week. It has already won approval in the House.
Kansas City is the only major city in the country whose police force is currently under state control, according to ProPublica. Jefferson City controlled St. Louis’ force from the Civil War era until 2012, and state leaders trying to get control back is nothing new. But close watchers of Jefferson City say that Christ’s bill has a better chance of passage under new Gov. Mike Kehoe, who has made state control a priority and who is seen as savvier at steering priorities through the legislature than his predecessor.
In her opposition to the bill, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones cites, among numerous other concerns, what state control would mean for immigration laws in the city.
That’s because Kehoe has also made enforcement of immigration laws a priority, and Jones says the current version of Christ’s bill would force police to collect suspects’ immigration status and submit that data to the state, something the SLMPD now doesn’t do.
“This puts an unfair target on every immigrant living in our community,” she says. “If immigrants become afraid of dealing with the police, they will be less likely to report crimes or talk to law enforcement, hurting both immigrant communities and our community at large, as police cannot hold criminals accountable if the community won’t talk to them.”
Opponents of state control say that the focus on immigration enforcement is just one example of how a state-run police force would be out of sync with the concerns of city residents.
“Under state control, SLMPD will be insulated from the people they serve, but the people will still have to foot the bill,” Jones says. “Few things are more un-American than that.”
That bill would also shoot up under state control, as the city would be required to devote a full quarter of its general revenue to the police. That’s due to a statewide ballot measure passed last year, which set 25 percent of a city’s general revenue as the minimum level of funding for any police department controlled by the state. At the time, it applied only to Kansas City.
Get a fresh take on the day’s top news
Subscribe to the St. Louis Daily newsletter for a smart, succinct guide to local news from award-winning journalists Sarah Fenske and Ryan Krull.
Currently, the department gets about 23 percent of the general revenue budget, City Hall spokesman Conner Kerrigan says. But that includes pensions, whereas pension costs would be in addition to the state’s 25 percent requirement. The state-controlled force would also have to employ no fewer than 1,313 officers, per Christ’s bill, a 19 percent increase from the 1,100 officers now working the beat when the SLMPD is fully staffed. Add it all up, and spending on police in the city would increase by more than $40 million a year.
“I don’t know how we’re going to do that,” says Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler. “We’d have to cut in other places.”
In a recent op-ed, Butler argued that rather than calling Christ’s bill a “state takeover,” it ought to be called a “Police Union Takeover,” noting how commissioners would come from within names submitted by the city’s two police unions, the St. Louis Police Officers Association and the Ethical Society of Police, which represent Black officers.
“The mayor appoints one person, the white police officers’ union appoints three, and the Black police officers union appoints one,” Butler tells SLM. “Now who do you think the governor is going to pick?”
Last election cycle, the St. Louis Police Officers Association political arm gave $7,000 to the Cops for Kehoe PAC as well as another $10,000 to the pro-state takeover Missouri Law Enforcement for Good Government PAC, which itself gave generously to Kehoe.
Butler adds, “I was in Jefferson City for six years. This is one of the most weirdly concocted commissions I’ve ever seen.”
One former officer says that, weirdly concocted commissions aside, he’d like to see more money for the department.
Last month, Clarence Hines resigned as the director of the police’s shooting range and training facility in South City after he tells SLM his alarm over the facility’s need for “dire repairs” went ignored. The range is necessary not only to train new recruits but also be used as a place for more veteran officers to renew their certifications.
“That’s where we teach them how to de-escalate,” he says of the facility. “That’s where we teach them how to evolve and grow as officers. That’s where we teach them the latest and greatest techniques. If you won’t even give us average facilities to train in, it’s an embarrassment to our city.”
Hines says the range’s roof leaked, there was mold, and entire pieces of walls were missing. Hines served on the force for 20 years starting in 1991, and then worked in education before coming back as the shooting range’s civilian director. When he returned in 2023, the carpet at the range was the same as it had been in 1991.
As further evidence that the SLMPD’s training facilities are underfunded: Last week a small part of the exterior wall of the department’s academy downtown fell to the sidewalk below. Luckily, no one was injured.
City Hall issued a statement saying that the failure of the academy’s window header was a result of aging, porous concrete soaking up moisture for many years. Repairs are underway.
About the shooting range, SLMPD Spokesman Mitch McCoy tells SLM that since Hines first went public with his concerns, the department has pulled $3 million from its general fund to make the upgrades to the facility Hines used to oversee.
McCoy says there are already contractors on site doing preliminary work and they hope for it to be done by early summer. “There’s no risk to offices losing their certification,” he says. “We’ll utilize other ranges if we need to.”
Hines’ experience directing the shooting range changed his opinion on who should govern the police department.
“I was not in favor of state control in principle,” he says. “However, I would be in support of it if it means better training, more resources and better overall management of the PD. The officers deserve better than they have received from local control.”
He adds: “City control feels like an arranged marriage that in spite of the best efforts of each party, still ends in divorce.”
