Gov. Mike Kehoe reiterates his focus on public safety during his State of the State speech Jan. 28 in the Missouri House chamber (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).
Only in Missouri do state politicians think they are better suited to run city police departments than local elected leaders.
There is zero evidence to support that premise. Yet the Missouri House just voted to place the St. Louis Police Department back under state control, even though a hefty 64% of voters liberated it from those shackles in a statewide vote in 2012.
The House action pleased Gov. Mike Kehoe, who took office in January geared up for this particular fight. If the Senate cooperates on a bill, Kehoe will sign it into law.
That prospect bodes poorly for Kansas City, which holds the humiliating distinction of being the only major U.S. city whose police department is run by the state.
Misery in this situation is not eager for company. Everyone knows a state seizure of the St. Louis Police Department would snuff out Kansas City’s faint hope of gaining control over its own police force any time soon.
Why this push now to double down on a form of police control that has roots in Civil War-era pro-slavery movements?
State control reduces accountability, silences the voices of citizens and creates an insular, defensive police structure. Its outcomes cannot be defended. And one can’t ignore the optics of white Republican politicians, many from rural areas, refusing to allow the state’s largest cities, both led by Democratic Black mayors, to control their own destiny.
In his State-of-the-State ad address, Kehoe said crime rates in St. Louis are “unacceptable,” suggesting that a return to state control of the police was just the ticket for turning things around.
It isn’t, and Kehoe knows it.
Crime rates are indeed unacceptable in St. Louis, and in Kansas City as well. That’s been the case for decades, and state control hasn’t moved the needle.
If the governor really wants to reduce crime, he’ll look at reforming Missouri’s gun laws, providing more mental health services around the state and finding creative ways to promote safety.
In an interview just after his first major speech, Kehoe revealed a more plausible explanation for his eagerness to have state control.
“I believe we need somebody who’s more sensitive to what the men and ladies in blue need in the St. Louis region,” he told reporters from St. Louis Public Radio. “And I think a state control board can provide that.”
Chalk up another score for the police unions, which have steadily gained power in Missouri since the 2012 vote favoring local control in St. Louis.
If the governor really wants to reduce crime, he’ll look at reforming Missouri’s gun laws, providing more mental health services around the state and finding creative ways to promote safety.
They have cultivated cop-friendly lawmakers to push for legislation ordering Kansas City to spend a higher percentage of its general fund money on the police department, and to allow officers to live outside of city limits.
They applied relentless pressure after a Kansas City officer, Eric DeValkenaere, was sent to prison for the death of a Black man. Kehoe’s predecessor, Mike Parson, commuted DeValkenaere’s sentence on his way out of office. If he hadn’t freed the cop, Kehoe had vowed to do so.
Police unions in both the state’s large cities support state control, and it’s easy to see why.
The bill the House just passed would allow unions to fill two of five seats on a board that would run the St. Louis Police Department. How’s that for a nice political favor?
In Kansas City, the governor designates all of the five police board members except for one, the city’s mayor.
I have watched dozens of police board appointees in action and they are mostly smart, service-oriented citizens. But they usually don’t live in heavily policed neighborhoods or come into frequent contact with citizens affected by crime and policing.
At monthly public meetings, they listen to reports from the brass about all that is going right in the department. Rarely do they hear an assessment of what’s going wrong. A portion of the meeting is set aside for public comment and complaints, but commissioners are not obligated to respond to citizens in the way that an elected mayor or council member would be.
Before long, many commissioners start to think of themselves as part of the department. If asked to choose between the interests of the cops and the community, their bias will be in favor of the cops.
If you’re a governor focused on law enforcement, like Kehoe, or a Republican legislator who looks upon Kansas City and St. Louis as lawless Democratic strongholds, it makes sense that you want to keep your thumb on the city police departments.
State-controlled police overseers might be more likely to help assist in enforcement of immigration laws, which is a priority for Kehoe. They’ll find additional funding to handle problems instead of seeking other, community-based solutions. They won’t question the state’s gun laws. They’ll support the officers, even if they are wrong. They’ll promote the status quo.
But they won’t make communities safer or happier. We know that from experience.