Police local control bill advances in House

By Ann Rubin

KSDK -- The effort to return control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department back to the city of St. Louis moved forward Monday. After a contentious vote, Missouri lawmakers advanced the bill out of committee.

The vote was five to three with one abstention. Members of the St. Louis Police Officer's Association were irate.

"I'm furious. I think it's an embarrassment. This was clearly pushed through by the chairman. I don't think he followed proper procedure. I don't think he allowed ample time for both sides," said St. Louis Police Officer's Association Joe Steiger.

The issue at hand is who should control the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. For the last 150 years, a Governor-appointed board has had the task. The bill would return control to the city. It did include new language intended to prevent tampering with police pensions, but an amendment that would have offered collective bargaining was not allowed.

"It's a winner take all bill, and the cops are the big losers and city hall is a big winner," said Rep. Jeff Roorda (D-Barnhart). "And we had a chance to negotiate something in between that would have brought everybody to the table and it's a shame the chairman erred in his ruling."

The officers have traveled to Jefferson City repeatedly to express their concerns; among them that local politics will influence everything from their investigations to their benefits. However, St. Louis officials say they should control the department they fund. The bill's co-sponsor agrees.

"It boils down to do you believe in local control or do you not?" said Rep. Steven Tilley (R-Perryville), House Majority Leader. "Do you think local people make better decisions than bureaucrats in Jeff City and I'm one that believes local people make better decisions."

And in a close call, there was a strange twist. Representative Vicki Englund, a no vote, was removed from the committee without explanation on Wednesday.

"It was a little bit of a shock to me. I think the vote would have definitely been different if I had been a member of the committee," Englund said.

There is much more on this topic to come. A similar bill will now be heard in the senate Tuesday.