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‘Just the Beginning’: Jail Oversight Board Sees Progress in New Bill | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

September 15, 2023

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click to enlarge Monica Obradovic Ward 14 Alderman Rasheen Aldridge introduced a bill on Friday that somewhat satiates the concerns of Detention Facility Oversight Board members.

After months of “crying for help,” members of the St. Louis’ jail oversight board see relief in an aldermanic proposal to give the board more power.

Board Bill 93, introduced today by Ward 14 Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, would allow the nine-member board to investigate complaints about the city jail faster and give them permission to hire an independent attorney.

The measure comes after tensions between the board and both Corrections Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah as well as Mayor Tishaura Jones reached a fever pitch earlier this summer.

Members of the Detention Facility Oversight Board have long complained they’ve been blocked from doing their jobs and investigating complaints at the city’s jail. Then two detainees died in the jail within two weeks in August. Board member Mike Milton previously told the RFT that at least one detainee might still be alive had the board been allowed to perform as intended.

The bill being considered by the Board of Aldermen won’t solve everything, Milton says, “but I definitely think it restores the power and integrity of this board.”

“This bill will help, but it’s not the end all be all,” Milton says.

click to enlarge RYAN KRULL The City Justice Center was cordoned off due to a hostage situation on August 22.

Members of the board say the bill will remove roadblocks to their investigations, particularly when it comes to city-mandated training. Members have argued that the current ordinance doesn’t require training in order for the board to investigate complaints, but the city made it mandatory, says member Rev. Darryl Gray. The city required the board to complete a long training process, tallying 40 hours in total, on topics that at times seemed unrelated to the work of addressing complaints.

“The content has been vague at times, and not really conducive to the work we do,” Gray says. “And the trainer determines the content.”

Aldridge’s bill would instead allow the Division of Civilian Oversight to establish a training program relevant to the board’s duties, and stipulates such training “shall not prevent the fulfillment of duties of DFOB members” unless they fail to complete it within a year.

If the bill passes, the board and the city’s commissioner of civilian oversight would be tasked with establishing an orientation program for new members that would take 10 hours at most. Current members would be required to complete a continued training program on facility operations and citizen and detainee rights, among other topics, in one year.

But what board members point to as the largest step forward is a section of the bill that would allow the board to retain independent legal counsel, instead of the city providing legal representation through City Counselor Sheena Hamilton’s office.

Milton says he sees a conflict of interest happening “in real time” as the city obstructs the board from receiving information. “Having an independent attorney is a no brainer,” he says.

Under Aldridge’s bill, the board would have to choose its attorney from a list of candidates provided by the city counselor.

“Our fear in that regard is that the city attorney’s office will recommend to the board attorneys that are more amenable to the circuit attorney’s point of view than the board’s point of view,” Gray says.

Aldridge says having Hamilton produce a list was a compromise.

“I think giving the city counselor the ability to pick is a smart way to pick firms that could be city-friendly but still be objective,” Aldridge says.

Aldridge says the bill may change form as it moves through the legislative process. It was first read today and referred to the Public Safety Committee.

“We’re up against a very powerful system,” Milton says. “I think this is just the beginning.”

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

12 months 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

12 months 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

12 months 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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