Tagged: St. Louis Police Department

The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners met for the first time since the retirement announcement of Police Chief Dan Isom.  Foremost on the boards’ agenda was establishing a process for vetting and interviewing potential candidates for chief.

Commissioner Richard Gray says the board plans to take a number of steps, similar to those taken when hiring a corporate CEO.  Including such things as a psychological examination to determine leadership skills, looking at old tax returns, and also engaging the public.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department says a month of intensive patrols in "hot spots" throughout the city was a major success.

St. Louis Police Chief Dan Isom announced on Monday that he will be stepping down as chief by the end of the year.  Isom will join the faculty of the Department of Criminology at the University of Missouri—St. Louis.

Isom, 45, took over as chief four years ago following the resignation of Joe Mokwa, who was linked to an illegal tow-lot scandal.

Speaking on UMSL’s campus, Isom said it was hard to move on after 24 years in the department, but the opportunity to teach at his alma mater was too good to ignore.

Proposition A, the state ballot measure to hand control of the St. Louis Police Department back to the city has come under fire from local activists.

A coalition of groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP is urging Missouri voters not to vote for Prop A on the grounds that language establishing a citizen oversight board and open access to police records has been stricken from the bill.   

Montague Simmons is a spokesman for the group.  He says they support local control, but not at the expense of accountability.