St. Louis Police Officers Association

Posted 10/3/2017, 5:30PM
ST. LOUIS POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

In 2013, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, in consultation with the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office and this organization, created its Force Investigation Unit, using the model of police shooting investigations favored as best practices by the United States Department of Justice.

To ensure transparency, the Force Investigation Unit operates under the presumption that every police use of force is a potential criminal investigation, wherein the officer(s) in question could potentially be charged criminally for their actions.

The Force Investigation Unit was formed with seasoned police investigators, under the supervision of a veteran homicide section supervisory investigator. The members of this unit have undergone intensive training that is specific to the investigation of an police use of deadly force, and utilize the latest technology to aid in their investigations.

In today’s testimony before the Aldermanic Public Safety Committee, Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner voiced her desire to take sole responsibility for investigations of police use of deadly force. Circuit Attorney Gardner also testified, as she frequently has in the past, about the logistical challenges she currently faces pertaining to staff and resource capacity of her office on all cases before her and her team. As a labor union that has consistently called for additional staff and resources required to assist the overworked and underpaid women and men of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, we understand and sympathize with the Circuit Attorney’s personnel and budgetary woes.

Beyond Ms. Gardner’s testimony of staff and resource shortages, we have serious concerns as to the effectiveness of the Circuit Attorney’s oversight of officer involved uses of deadly force.

On September 30, 2017, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s investigative article “Stockley Case Transcripts Reveal Misstatements to Grand Jury”, authored by reporters Christine Byers and Joel Currier, detailed several inconsistencies between statements given by a state’s witness to the Grand Jury and that witness’ subsequent trial testimony. Also noted was the, as of yet, unrevealed “new evidence” touted by then Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, as the major factor in charging Jason Stockley in 2015. This is contrary to the initial findings of both her office, and that of then-United States Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice. Any reasonable assumption or conclusion would have to include, at best, the Circuit Attorney’s Offices’ negligence in thoroughly vetting the evidence it put forth at trial, which potentially resulted in a witness perjuring themselves.

These are not accusations rendered by this organization; they are the results of an investigative report from veteran journalists. For these reasons, among others, we disagree with the approach outlined by the Circuit Attorney.

The Circuit Attorney’s Office and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department have a symbiotic relationship that is necessary for the safety and security of the citizens of our City. There can be no appearance of political interference, and tension between our offices, especially during this critical juncture, is the last thing our City needs. Communication, cooperation and trust are paramount.

It is the position of our union that to ensure transparency, and to keep the confidence of both the citizens of our community, as well as the police officers charged with protecting them, the Force Investigation Unit should remain the investigating body for police use of deadly force, where the Circuit Attorney maintains its present role in these investigations. Additionally, as was recommended by the Ferguson Commission Report, we welcome and support the State of Missouri Attorney General’s office potential role as the reviewing authority of these investigations. This approach will ensure objective fairness to both the public and law enforcement professionals.