CLAYTON, Mo. — The St. Louis County Police Department should change the way it uses tear gas on protesters, do a better job recruiting Black officers and change a portion of its lethal force policy, according to a letter Police Board Commissioner Dr. L.J. Punch wrote to Chief Mary Barton
Barton discussed portions of the July 28 letter during Tuesday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting and invited several members of her command staff to address Punch’s concerns.
The letter reads, in part, "I am not sure you have embraced the depth of pain the community is experiencing right now around racial injustice. I do not believe you have recognized the impact of your statement in front of the county council nor the impact of ongoing inaction in areas of racial equity."
The public was only allowed to attend the meeting via the online-based program called Zoom. The sound was barely audible for most of the meeting, including Barton’s response to Punch’s concerns as well as Punch’s concerns in their entirety.
Punch declined an interview request after the meeting but said: “I’m baffled as to what happened today. And that’s all I’m going to say right now.”
At the end of her discussion with Punch, Barton said, in part, “I appreciate the opportunity … and with the combined wisdom we have here at the department, I believe we can move forward.”
The department's spokesman, Sgt. Benjamin Granda said Barton was not available for an interview Tuesday to explain the points she made during the board meeting.
During the portions of the audio that were clear, Punch talked about the department’s use of tear gas on protesters, to which Barton asked Lt. Col. Jeff Bader to explain.
He said, in part, “We do not use tear gas on peaceful protesters.”
Punch also took issue with the department’s use-of-force policy, which states officers should give people verbal warnings before firing at them “if feasible.” Punch suggested that clause be removed from the policy, and requires officers to issue verbal warnings always.
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Lt. Colby Dolly explained the language is based on Supreme Court rulings on the matter of lethal force, and because it’s not always feasible to do so.
“Things happen in an instant and officers need to respond in an instant,” he told her.
Punch also said in her letter only a third of police recruits are minorities and the department only retains 10% of them.
Human Resources Director Carl Becker said the current recruit class has 22 members, about 20% of whom are Black, about 18% of whom are Hispanic and about 40% of whom are women. He added the department is doing a better job recruiting minorities.
Punch also wants a public database of officers involved in use-of-force incidents. Lt. Col. Kenneth Gregory said it’s not safe or fair to have such a database for officers because an officer's use of force doesn't mean he or she did anything wrong.
He also explained at length the department's internal discipline tracking system, which flags problem officers for discipline or termination.
Punch also called for more transparency from the department.
Granda talked about the department’s social media pages and how he’s available 24/7 by phone or email.
