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A Filmmaker Wants to Put Gravois Park Under Drone Surveillance | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

December 13, 2023

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click to enlarge Gravois Park is located on St. Louis’ south side.

If a Washington, DC-based filmmaker gets his way, surveillance drones will be hovering over St. Louis’ Gravois Park neighborhood starting next month as a way to fight crime.

Fox 2’s Andy Banker reported last night that the filmmaker plans a two-week test run in January during which residents can access a live feed from the drones between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The man behind the effort, Joe Johnson, head of SMS Novel Films, tells the the RFT that the drones will be piloted by employees of his company who are situated nearby, “usually operating from an open field, an open park or in their car.” Each individual operator can cover about one square mile.

“We hire folks and then they operate once they do about three to four weeks of training,” Johnson says.

Johnson says he has a background in ministry and social justice in addition to filmmaking, and given that his company’s filmmaking equipment is only being used to make about one film every two months, he saw the drone program as a way to put the technology to good use. (Among the projects that Johnson’s company has in the pipeline is a biopic about Ashli Babbitt, who died during the Capitol insurrection; Johnson says the film will be about the tragic consequences of buying into disinformation and “the big lie” of January 6.)

Johnson sees the drones as being a way to keep city residents safe.

“You hate to bring it up October 7, that probably couldn’t have been prevented,” Johnson says. “But I think a lot of people could have been saved if there was a greater amount of detection of what was happening around them.”

At least one public official isn’t having it.

“To my knowledge, they don’t have any type of authorization or permit to proceed, but I am looking into this further,” Alderman Shane Cohn tells the RFT. Cohn’s 3rd Ward contains portions of Gravois Park.

Cohn adds in a text message, “A private entity charging citizens to utilize/watch vigilante drone footage is ridiculous, and does nothing to deter crime, and only sacrifices citizen’s liberty at the hand of ill-fated security measures.”

Johnson says that concerns like those expressed by Cohn are overblown.

“Number one, somebody’s always watching,” Johnson says. “Number two, most of the time the drones operate so high, you’re not going to see them. Number three, if you’re not doing anything illegal or criminal, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

Johnson’s drones remind some city residents of a failed effort by a company in Ohio to fly a “spy plane” around St. Louis as a way to fight crime. That effort was ultimately scrapped in the face of public pushback.

Cohn tells the RFT that he has not been consulted or in contact with Johnson’s company. He adds that since seeing the Fox 2 story, he has reached out to other city officials to see if Johnson’s outfit has been in contact with anyone in city government.

Johnson says yes.

“We are reaching out [to city officials], but it is extremely important to note that we are completely private,” Johnson says. “So anytime we do a beta test, about two weeks before we’ll send out a notice to the council, to aldermen, to the police, to let them know what we’re doing, who we are, that we have credentials.”

At least one local business says they’ll defy the drones, if they do come to Gravois Park.

Earthbound Beer tweeted this morning, “We have one of the tallest roofs in Gravois Park. I bet we can bring these drones down.”

Presumably, the brewery is stocking up on pool skimmers and tennis rackets as we speak.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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