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“I brought flowers so if I see police officers I can walk up to them and hand them a carnation and tell them the name of someone who was slain by police officers through police brutality and say, ‘We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection’ — to quote Abraham Lincoln.”
PHOTO BY THEO WELLING
— MARVIN-ALONZO GREER PHOTOGRAPHED DURING PROTESTS AT THE PROMENADE AT BRENTWOOD ON JUNE 4 riverfronttimes.com
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The Accountability Question WHO DO THE police answer to? It seems like that should be an easy question to answer, but it often is not. The U.S. Department of Justice investigated the Ferguson Police Department after Michael Brown’s 2014 killing. That led to a federal monitor and a slate of court-enforced reforms through a consent decree that are still in process today. How effective that has been is up for debate, but as Minneapolis cops face charges in the killing of George Floyd and police officers across the country are filmed clubbing and tear gassing protesters, you can count on not counting on the feds to hold them accountable. As we explore in this week’s cover story, the Trump administration’s DOJ has taken the approach that problem police departments need support, not oversight. The latest wave of protests may draw comparisons to the uprising in Ferguson, but the country is quickly learning it will have to keep looking for answers. — Doyle Murphy, editor in chief
TABLE OF CONTENTS CAN’T
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Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Doyle Murphy
E D I T O R I A L Digital Editor Jaime Lees Hero In A Hot Dog Suit Daniel Hill Contributors Cheryl Baehr, Trenton Almgren-Davis, Jenna Jones, Monica Obradovic, Andy Paulissen A R T
& P R O D U C T I O N Art Director Evan Sult Editorial Layout Haimanti Germain Production Manager Haimanti Germain M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Advertising Director Colin Bell Senior Account Executive Cathleen Criswell Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Multimedia Account Executive Jackie Mundy C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers
COVER
E U C L I D M E D I A G R O U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein www.euclidmediagroup.com
Justice Departed Hyper-aggressive police response six years ago in Ferguson led to federal investigations, but the Trump Justice Department has walked away from overseeing police departments Cover photo by
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HARTMANN Bridge Crossed? At last, a glimmer of hope for policing racial injustice in St. Louis and beyond BY RAY HARTMANN
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he police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis brought America together in ways few might have imagined. When commentators with names like Hannity and Limbaugh agree on a set of facts with commentators with names like Maddow and Sharpton, you’ve got a story. Just about everyone had the same view of what accused murderer Derek Chauvin did to Mr. Floyd. Just about everyone was disgusted. Many police officers and their departments across the nation even
took the unusual step of directing sharp criticism to their brethren in Minneapolis. Some took a knee in a moving show of sympathy and solidarity with the protesters. If President Donald Trump has his way, Americans will return to tribalism over fallout from the protests. To his unmistakable dismay, the public has overwhelmingly supported the peaceful protesters, not his authoritarian bluster and that historically repulsive, upside-down-Bible photoop travesty near the White House. St. Louis has had mostly inspiring protests that, for the first time, include displays of unity even in places like St. Charles County and on the streets of other wealthy suburban areas. There’s been tragedy, too, with the death of beloved former police Capt. David Dorn, killed during the senseless looting of which the city and county have had more than their share. That looting and vandalism has marred the response nationally, but it has not diminished the just cause of the protesters. Their rage is righ-
teous, even if the collateral damage caused by criminals — including some spurred by whites with an agenda — will provide fodder for the political discord upon which the president feeds like a virus. In that vein, we saw police union racial agitator Jeff Roorda last week attack St. Louis police Chief John Hayden, claiming police had “no confidence” in him. Consistent with presidential messaging, Roorda asked Gov. Mike Parson to put the National Guard or Missouri State Highway Patrol in charge of clamping down on protests. That evoked a stunning rebuke of Roorda from the customarily tooreticent Hayden: “A person who is as controversial and divisive as he is, through his words and actions, has no seat at my table, and I am not alone in this sentiment.” Attorney General Eric Schmitt tried to pin the release of 36 “looters and rioters” on Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, even though police never even brought 28 of those cases to her office for review and there was no
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evidence offered that the remainder were not handled properly. But nationally and even in St. Louis, one bridge may have been crossed: A growing consensus has emerged, at long last, that America faces a crisis of confidence with regard to the treatment of African Americans by law enforcement and the judicial system. This is a rare opportunity for our country — to begin working together for unity in a space where divisiveness has always stifled progress. Americans agree on basic principles of racial justice far more than tribal politics would suggest, especially when it comes to preventing crime in the first place. The devil is in the details. Unless and until there is change in national leadership, the ideas must bubble up from local citizens and their representatives in places like St. Louis. I’ve decided to borrow another St. Louisan’s thoughts on the subject: “The system must address violence in our communities. Decades of experience shows us that this is not a
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problem that can be solved by police officers and prosecutors wor ing alone, using incarceration as the only tool. nfortunately, only a small proportion of violent crimes reported are ever solved, so, for the most part, the criminal ustice system does not touch the parties involved in or affected by these offenses. “In addition, decades of intolera ly high levels of violent crime have shown that while incarcerating the convicted is often necessary and appropriate, it alone cannot successfully address the stu orn pro lem of violent crime in our city. aw enforcement officials should do more for victims than simply ma e arrests. ... reventing violence egins with addressing victims and helping them heal. Many people who commit violent acts were once victims themselves. iving victims the help that they need is not only good for them, it is critical to the community. he health and safety of crime victims and witnesses should e a top priority of the system, without a demand or e pectation of anything from them in return. here needs to e counseling to victims of domestic and or se ual assault, including providing them relocation assistance so they have the resources to escape further harm. upport for victims means social wor ers should e integrated into the criminal ustice system so they are not su ect to long wait times for services, as in the past. f course, pu lic safety sometimes re uires the incarceration of individuals who commit violent crimes. his incarceration doesn t happen in a vacuum, however, and it causes pain and hardship to family mem ers who are left ehind. he children of incarcerated parents are more li ely to suffer from depression and post traumatic stress disorder. ... A rea down in the parent child relationship that can occur during incarceration contri utes to a variety of negative outcomes, including increased criminal ehavior in our ne t generation. ur criminal ustice system should address the emotional impact on children of eing separated from their parent. t should provide o training and placement assistance for caregivers of children with incarcerated parents. Children whose loved ones are incarcerated ought to e a le to maintain contact with them through child friendly visitation conditions at the jail and free telephone calls. e can reduce violence y help-
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ing to strengthen the relationship etween the community and law enforcement and increase confidence in the ustice system. ... hen mem ers of our community trust that the police and prosecutors treat everyone fairly and genuinely want to help eep them safe, they are more li ely to see help when they need it, report crimes, and participate in investigations. n many cases, people who commit crimes can be helped by diversion programs that reduce reoffending y getting them treatment and social services that would have prevented those crimes in the first place. f addressing their underlying pro lems can eep them in school or wor ing productively, rather than having criminal records and incarcerating, the community comes out ahead. o do that, prosecutors can t ring cases lac ing evidence and they cannot overcharge suspects to force plea offers. he system needs to stop arresting and detaining people accused of misdemeanors and low level felonies, so that those who pose no pu lic safety threat would not e held in custody simply ecause they don t have the money to ond out. uilding a strong, trusting relationship etween the community and the police must e a top priority. olice officers cannot have incentive to engage in misconduct, and those who have een indicted, untruthful or have shown pre udice on racial, ethnic or religious lines ased on pu lic comments and actions cannot e counted upon for testimony.� ot many people in t. ouis would find fault with any of that. t s a sound, realistic and compelling aleit idealistic strategy for com ating the scourge of violence. ut fewer would recogni e the author as Kim ardner, who li e t. ouis County rosecutor esley ell r. is a lightning rod for controversy for her radical position as part of a movement of reform prosecutors. he words are on ardner s we site in her campaign for reelection. he will e challenged in August y a respected former prosecutor, Mary at Carl. his is not an endorsement of ardner ust a suggestion that what unites us is stronger than what tears us apart, especially if people can get past the rhetoric and the headlines. uddenly, even the words of a radical reformer don t seem so radical anymore. Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhartmann@sbcglobal.net or catch him on St. Louis In the Know With Ray Hartmann and Jay Kanzler from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).
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Murder Bust Accused gunman charged in retired Capt. David Dorn’s killing Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
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24-year-old man has been charged with murdering retired St. Louis police Captain David Dorn while looting a pawn shop, and a second man has been charged with burglary. Stephan Cannon of the Glasgow Village neighborhood is accused of pulling the trigger. He and Jimmie Robinson, 27, of Florissant were among multiple people who slipped into Lee’s Pawn and Jewelry, 4123 Dr. Martin Drive, early on the morning of June 2, according to court records. Cannon and accomplices arrived that morning in a Pontiac G6, police say. Surveillance footage from the shop shows Cannon and the car’s driver inside the store, and the driver started handing television sets to other accomplices outside the shop before ducking back out to help load the car. The footage shows Cannon go outside and then walk to the corner of the store, gun in hand, when Dorn arrived, the probable cause statement says. Dorn worked at the store on occasion, and police have said he was trying to defend it from looters on a
Facebook Flop Gun heist suspect tried to sell weapons online, feds say Written By
DOYLE MURPHY
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man who federal prosecutors say swiped 34 guns during a pawn shop burglary in Affton is also facing weapons charges in Tennessee. Devante Coffie of Valley Park was arrested last weekl after investigators found social media posts in which he tried to sell guns stolen May 31 from
Stephan Cannon. | ST. LOUIS POLICE
Retired police Captain David Dorn. | ST. LOUIS POLICE night when dozens of businesses were burglarized or vandalized across the city. In the video, police say you can see gun smoke after Cannon allegedly shot Dorn. Investigators later found Dorn down, shot multiple times. They found shell casings from a 9 millimeter outside the store. Cannon was filmed wal ing ac to the entrance of the store, police say. Witnesses told investigators that someone yelled to the people still inside after the shooting, and everyone fled. Cannon, the ontiac driver and a third, unidentified, Southside Jewelry and Pawn Shop, according to a criminal complaint. During the early morning burglary, the nineteen-year-old and another, unnamed, person climbed on top of a minivan, busted out a second-floor window and crawled into the shop, authorities say. Once inside, the two pulled out guns and blasted open glass cases that held guns, according to the complaint. Coffie is accused of stealing 32 semiautomatic handguns and two rifles during the break-in. Investigators monitored social media for gun sales in the days after the burglary. They soon spotted videos posted by Coffie. He was trying to sell the stolen weapons, and the investigators also noticed bandages on his hand, court records say. They believe he cut his hand while climbing through the broken
person got back in the G6 and took off, police say. Police distributed a video last week showing seven people described as “persons of interest” in Dorn’s death, and CrimeStoppers offered a reward that grew to $56,700 for information leading to an arrest. Police say Cannon was identified y a witness. hen investigators tracked him down at his home, he admitted he was in the shop that night and that he had cut his hair after seeing his photo from the surveillance video, police say. Police also found one of
Devante Coffie. | NASHVILLE POLICE window. He still had one of the stolen guns when he was arrested, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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the televisions stolen that night. Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced Cannon’s arrest on Sunday evening. “Based upon the diligent work of the police department, collaboration with the Circuit Attorney’s Office, and the cooperation from the outraged community, we have issued charges for the tragic murder of former Captain David Dorn,” Gardner says in a news release. Along with first degree murder, Cannon is charged with robbery, burglary, unlawful use of a weapon and three counts of armed criminal action. He was held without bond. Cannon has previous felony convictions for robbery and assault. He has a pending case in the city for stealing. Robison was charged with armed criminal action and stealing along with one count of first degree burglary. n Police have said as many as ten people in six vehicles were involved in the burglary. Only Coffie has been charged so far. In February, Coffie was a student at Tennessee State University when he was arrested and accused of shooting at a fleeing car on campus. According to reports by Tennessee media, police say surveillance video showed him make a “transaction” with a car that suddenly sped away. Coffie was then seen running after the car, firing six or seven rounds, authorities say. Police later searched his dorm room and reportedly found a handgun and a scale. He was charged with illegal gun possession and reckless endangerment, according to court records. Coffie is now being held in jail in the burglary case. n
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Ella Jones is the first black woman elected as Ferguson’s mayor. | VIA CITY OF FERGUSON
Meet the New Boss Ferguson elects Ella Jones as its first black mayor Written By
DOYLE MURPHY
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lla Jones, a change agent in the remaking of Ferguson politics, was elected June 2 as the city’s mayor. Jones defeated fellow Councilwoman Heather Robinett by 138 votes. The former working chemist and Mary Kay sales director has been part of a new wave of politicians who moved into government office following the illing of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer. he was elected to the city council in along with Wesley Bell, taking seats on a sixmember council that previously had just one black member. ell went on in to oust long-
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time t. ouis County rosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch, who had become a symbol of all that was wrong with a justice system stacked against African Americans. And now Jones has won a historic election, ecoming the first woman and first African American voted into the mayor’s job. Current Mayor James Knowles, who helmed the city during the world-changing protests that followed Brown’s death, defeated Jones three years ago to win reelection. But he couldn’t run this time because of term limits. Jones has lived in Ferguson for more than years. he graduated from the University of Missouri t. ouis with a achelor s in chemistry before working at ashington niversity chool of Medicine and K harmaceutical Company. he was a Mary Kay sales director for years efore resigning to focus on community service full time. he is also a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. eople from the seniors to the young people understand that my goal is for us to be one — for us to wor together,” ones told t. ouis u lic adio. n
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The sight of heavily armed police deployed in Ferguson shocked the country. Now, it’s a scene playing out in every major U.S. city. | STEVE TRUESDELL
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JUSTICE DEPARTed Hyper-aggressive police response six years ago in Ferguson led to federal investigations, but the Trump Justice Department has walked away from overseeing police departments BY DOYLE MURPHY, WITH REPORTING BY JUDY LUCAS
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fter erguson police fficer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown in 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice focused its searchlight on the city’s police force. This was separate from an investigation into the actual shooting of the black teen. Over the course of six months, attorneys from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and law enforcement experts examined more than 35,000 pages of police records, tagged along on patrols and analyzed data on car stops and searches. They spent time witnessing the happenings at the city court and interviewed dozens of people accused of violating city codes. In March 2015, they delivered a report that found the city’s police officers routinely a used people s constitutional rights. “Our investigation showed that erguson police officers routinely violate the Fourth Amendment in stopping people without reasonable suspicion, arresting them without probable cause, and using unreasonable force against them,” then-U.S. Attorney Eric Holder said at the time. It wasn’t anything protesters had not already shouted about in city streets after Brown’s death, and in fact it was their worldchanging demonstrations — and local law enforcement’s smashmouth response — that drew the Justice Department’s attention in the first place. Unsurprisingly, George Floyd protests across the country in memory of the 46-year-old black man killed by Minneapolis police have drawn comparisons to what
happened in Ferguson. But even as more details point to widespread problems in the Minneapolis Police Department, it would be naive to expect a similar response from the current Justice Department. Under the Trump administration, the nation’s chief law enforcement entity has largely abandoned its most powerful tools for oversight and reform of police departments. Shortly before he was pushed out by Trump in November 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions signed a memo that shifted the feds away from court-enforcemed agreements with police departments like Ferguson’s — consent decrees that forced them to make sweeping changes to policies and day-to-day operations. Sessions’ move also effectively stopped the DOJ from a gentler alternative: collaborative reform initiatives. Those involved working with police departments, including St. Louis County’s, to assess their operations and come up with solutions. “This is a Justice Department that is simply uninterested or unwilling to engage with local police departments,” says Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and past president of the American Society of Criminology. Rosenfeld says the Minneapolis Police Department, like Ferguson efore it, seems li e a natural fit for a consent decree. And even though people from across the political spectrum, ranging from U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) to the Rev. Al Sharpton, have publicly said the feds should open a “pattern or practice” investigation
into that department, it’s unlikely to happen. In October 2018, a month before he signed the memo, Sessions spoke to the Chicago Crime Commission as that city was facing a potential consent decree spurred by the police killing of Laquan McDonald and subsequent cover-up. Sessions blasted the idea that police departments needed anything but support from the federal government. “Chicago police are not the problem,” Sessions said. “Chicago police are the solution.” Trump forced Sessions out a month later over bickering during the Russian collusion investigation, but the disdain for reining in problem police departments lives on. If anything, Trump’s “law and order” bent has only grown stronger as he rages against the protests filling city streets day after day, night after night.
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ike the killing of Michael Brown, the death of George loyd was a signal flare that summoned the eyes of a nation to an ugly history of abusive policing. Workers in a Minneapolis corner store called police after they say the 46-year-old paid for cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. The smallness of the initial incident made for a familiar starting point of minor incidents that escalate beyond all reason. Floyd was quickly handcuffed, and police officers recogni ed he was in some sort of medical distress, calling for an ambulance shortly after. When Floyd didn’t want to go into the back of a police SUV,
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officers shoved him inside, only to drag him across the seats and out of the other side. fficer erek Chauvin, a nineteen-year veteran with a history of complaints against him, pulled him out of the SUV’s door and onto the street, where he pinned him facedown on the ground. For nearly nine minutes, a stomach-churning cellphone video would show, Chauvin kneeled on the back of Floyd’s neck, ignoring pleas from bystanders to ease up. Floyd himself begged for just enough mercy to inhale and exhale. “I can’t breathe,” he groaned. Chauvin wouldn’t move. As witnesses begged him to stop, pointing out that Floyd had lost consciousness, the longtime cop stared placidly from his perch. Two other officers helped hold their prisoner down while a fourth moved to stand in front of Chauvin, serving as a human barrier should anyone get any ideas about intervening. By the time an ambulance arrived, Floyd had been out for nearly three minutes. he officers helped medical workers roll his limp body onto a stretcher. He would never recover. The boldness of the episode was searing. At times, Chauvin looked directly into the cellphone camera of a seventeen-year-old girl filming him. e appeared almost bored, maybe a little annoyed by the witnesses but apparently unconcerned about any consequences for his particularly merciless brutality. Out of seventeen complaints against him in his career, his only punishment had been a letter of reprimand, police records
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Over the last two weeks, hundreds of tweeted videos from all across America have shown the police at their worst during George Floyd protests. | TWITTER SCREEN GRABS
JUSTICE DEPARTED Continued from pg 15
would show. We would learn that Chauvin was a training officer for the younger officers at the scene, two of whom had yet to complete a full wee of patrols. e was in charge of showing them how to e a cop.
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n erguson si years ago, protesters irthed an uprising echoed in today s eorge loyd protests. Crowds uilt and uilt until they were impossi le to ignore, and pioneers of the lac ives Matter movement demanded officials address the government sponsored ine ualities that churned up those who spent their entire lives at their mercy. he national attention helped unearth a long history of predatory policing and a municipal court system that trapped people, particularly poor African Americans, in inescapa le cycles of fines and violations for not paying fines. he ustice epartment investigators report found that the city had twisted its priorities away from providing services to treating its residents as a primary revenue source, ta ing them through an insane amount of traffic stops and code violations that had little to do with safety or providing services. n an email memoriali ed in the report, the city s finance director wrote to the police chief that unless tic et writing ramps up significantly efore the end of the year, it will e hard to significantly raise collections ne t year. ... iven that we are loo ing at a su stantial sales ta shortfall, it s
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not an insignificant issue.” he ustice epartment pushed the city to sign a consent decree designed to overhaul the police department. hen the city resisted, citing the urden and e pense of the multi year pact, the feds sued erguson, eventually ca oling municipal leaders into an agreement. he fle ing of that ind of federal muscle is considered government overreach y the rump administration. he president has made a platform of supporting the most ruthless impulses of policing in America, openly lusting for more aggressive tactics. hen a protester wearing a KKK ndorses rump” shirt at one of his campaign rallies in was e ected from the crowd, rump complained from the stage a out the supposedly gentler norms of the present. n the good old days, law enforcement acted a lot uic er than this. A lot uic er,” rump told an approving audience. n the good old days, they d rip him out of that seat so fast, ut today everyone s politically correct.” uring a speech to ong sland cops, rump suggested they s ip the practice of protecting suspects heads as officers load them into s uad cars. lease don t e too nice,” the president said. i e when you guys put some ody in the car and you re protecting their head, you now, the way you put their hand over, li e, don t hit their head and they ve ust illed someody, don t hit their head said, ou can ta e the hand away, K ” As protests have spread across the country, the president has threatened a violent crac down.
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hen the looting starts, the shooting starts,” he tweeted on May , a phrase lifted from the racist rhetoric of a former Miami sheriff during civil rights era uprisings in . hen protesters massed outside the hite ouse in recent days, rump tweeted that if they had ro en past the line of ecret ervice agents they would have een greeted y the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, have ever seen. hat s when people would have een really adly hurt, at least. Many ecret ervice agents ust waiting for action.”
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o far, rump hasn t gotten to see vicious dogs tear protesters apart on the hite ouse lawn, ut he has seen his wish for a more violent police response play out during demonstrations throughout the nation. n video after video, police officers from ew or City to os Angeles have unloaded tear gas and ru er ullets on protesters, nightstic ing their way through nonviolent crowds, using icycles as attering rams and noc ing people to the pavement in head smac ing falls. When Ferguson turned into the center of unrest, people from around the country, and even the world, flooded into the small middle class city. ut now the protests have sprawled into cities across the country. nstead of traveling, thousands fill their own streets in enver, ortland, Atlanta, Memphis and ndianapolis. mall towns as disparate as inedale, yoming, and Alton, llinois, have hosted demonstrations. nce more of a
concept, the saying erguson is everywhere” is playing out in real time. n Minneapolis, officers were filmed firing pepper alls at people standing on their own porch. ight them up,” one of them is heard saying in the footage. Austin, e as, police fractured a college student s s ull with a ean ag round, and then fired more of the less lethal rounds at protesters who were trying to carry him to medical help. n Kansas City, video showed police swarm a man who was hec ling them from at least ten feet away, lasting him and others with pepper spray as officers too him into custody. ew or City cops are on film in one clip after another rutali ing protesters. n one scene, a muscle ound cop shoves a slightly uilt young woman, who goes flying ac ward, hitting her head as the officer arely rea s stride marching past. n another, an officer gra s a woman s reast while wrestling with her, and when she sha es him off, others move to wale on her legs with atons until she collapses to the ground. o eep up with the carnage, people have egun assem ling sprawling witter threads, filled with nothing ut police a using protesters. ne of the most widely shared is more than clips long, with new additions every day. atched in succession, they paint a terrifying picture of a criminal ustice system filled with furious officers from do ens of departments in every corner of the nited tates. A deep anger comes through. he clips tend toward retaliation and punishment.
The police union in Buffalo, New York, was incensed when two officers were suspended for knocking down a frail 75-yearold. In a video recorded by a radio reporter, the man is shoved by an officer and topples ac ward. He smacks his head and lies motionless, blood pooling as several more officers step past him. he entire 57-member Emergency Response Team resigned from the special unit when two of the officers were suspended. he two were later charged with felony assault, and more than 100 Buffalo cops, firefighters and other supporters cheered them outside the courthouse, the New York Times reported. The idea that police could be wrong in responding with force to demonstrators has been slow to take hold at departments across the country. Following the lead of a president and attorney general who tear-gassed, bludgeoned and shot people with rubber bullets to clear a path in front of the White House for a photo op, many reject it outright. “We kept asking them to leave,” Huntsville, Alabama, police Chief Mark McMurray told the Alabama Political Reporter, explaining his decision to use tear gas and rubber bullets on people who overstayed their permit for a protest in the city square. “They brought this — this group brought this on themselves.”
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here is a growing number of people who don’t subscribe to the president’s idea that police need more force and less oversight — and some of the additions to that list are surprising. Last week, Sen. Roy Blunt (DMissouri) sent Attorney General William Barr a letter, asking him to bring back the “pattern or practice” investigations and consent decrees employed in Ferguson. “In the wake of the recent tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, Americans are rightfully demanding justice and accountability,” Blunt, who has been a Trump ally, writes. “To that end, I write to urge you to use your authority as the nation’s top law enforcement officer to root out misconduct in local police departments and to help restore trust between these departments and the communities they serve.” He notes the past history of using those oversight tools to address systemic problems in troubled police departments, including three in greater St. Louis. have seen firsthand how the
federal government can play an important role in addressing failures in the local justice system, rebuilding trust in police departments, and restoring confidence in government institutions,” the senator adds. The letter puts Blunt in the rare position of siding on an issue of law and order with Democratic Congressman Lacy Clay, who issued a joint statement with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver in support of Blunt’s request. A day later, the Rev. Al Sharpton used a portion of his eulogy at George Floyd’s memorial service to advocate for federal intervention. “We got to go back to consent decrees,” Sharpton told mourners inside the North Central University sanctuary in Minneapolis. Consent decrees were introduced as part of the 1994 federal crime bill. Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department oversaw fourteen consent decrees. Richard Rosenfeld, the University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist, says they are far from the only means of reforming police departments, but federal intervention can strengthen the efforts of activists and others hoping to hold departments accountable and make changes. Rosenfeld has also studied collaborative agreements overseen by the federal Community Oriented olicing ervices ffice. n the past, police departments have contacted the C office on their own to request help. That was the case in St. Louis County where the police department voluntarily underwent a review that resulted in 109 recommendations from 50 findings. he colla orations were a less restrictive — and less expensive — alternative to a full-on consent decree. “The departments that have engaged in collaborative agreements seem to e uite satisfied,” Rosenfeld says. But even as Jeff Sessions panned consent decrees as government overreach, he also quit the voluntary collaborations. Rosenfeld says restarting those agreements could be the “path of least resistance” for an administration facing calls from both the right and left to reclaim some oversight.
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avad Khazaeli has watched the response of police departments to the George Floyd protests with a certain amount of déjà vu. The St. Louis-based attorney is counsel or co-counsel in about twenty federal civil rights lawsuits against the city as a result of its police crackdown on protest-
ers following the 2017 acquittal of ex-cop Jason Stockley, who was accused of murdering Anthony Lamar Smith, a black 24-year-old suspected of dealing drugs. Protests lasted for weeks, and police cracked down hard. On the third night, officers surrounded a group of people in a downtown intersection and swarmed in with pepper spray, batons and zip ties, indiscriminately arresting anyone trapped inside the “kettle” when officers loc ed off all pathways to exit. The group included journalists, neighbors and demonstrators. A lac undercover police officer was also beaten severely that night by fellow cops who thought he was a protester. Five city cops were later indicted on federal charges, including two who have pleaded guilty. The criminal case turned up text messages among several of the officers, ragging about beating up protesters. Khazaeli sees echoes of the Stockley protest police attacks in the video clips and reported accounts of officers across the country brutalizing people at George Floyd demonstrations. “These acts are inspired by what t. ouis police officers did almost three years ago, which was captured on video,” Khazaeli says. And while St. Louis cops have mostly avoided landing on the highlight reels of police abuse during George Floyd protests here, Khazaeli wonders what, if anything, they’ve learned. To date, the city hasn’t conceded police were wrong during the Stockley protests, he says. Khazaeli pointed out that St. Louis police Chief John Hayden recently noted the same police commander who oversaw the kettle, Lt. Gerald Leyshock, was leading the department’s response to current protests. “Nobody in St. Louis government has had the courage to do anything about it,” Khazaeli says of sorting out the Stockley abuses. “In fact, the chief of police [last week] told the public that we should be encouraged by the fact that the same man that was the architect of these illegal arrests and the kettling is once again in charge of the police’s response to the George Floyd protests.” In the vacuum left by the feds, the courts are one of the few options to force reforms, he says. “We see that the Trump Department of Justice has abdicated their role in keeping police departments accountable, and local governments, like St. Louis city, refuse to do the same, [so] the only avenue is civil lawsuits,” Khazaeli says. “Unfortunately, that means taxpayers are left with the burden
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of paying for the damage these officers inflict on the community.” Even if the Justice Department has a change of heart and returns to the business of overseeing and reforming police departments, not everyone is convinced consent decrees are making the kind of change needed. Nearly six years after Michael Brown’s death, Ferguson’s consent decree is still in progress. John Chasnoff, a program director for the ACLU of Eastern Missouri, says there have been some reforms made, but the city has been slow in implementing the full list of required changes. Sessions’ memo limited the ability to expand the agreements, and activists such as Chasnoff wonder about the city’s commitment. “We have often felt that they are running out the clock,” he says. “They haven’t done everything they could.” No one from the monitoring team or police department responded to the Riverfront Times’ requests for comment. Left with the option of trying to force existing police departments to be better through incremental changes, the concept of “defunding” police departments has begun to gain popularity. The idea is that instead of continuously sinking money into rewritten policies and training that has done little to change a criminal justice system that continues to incarcerate minorities at extreme rates, we would be better off shifting tax dollars to health care, education, jobs programs and other options that attack social ills. It’s more than talk: A majority of Minneapolis’ city council members have announced they plan to disband the city’s troubled police department and replace it with a new public safety model. In St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, a pu lic interest law firm that represents some of the metro’s most vulnerable, has advocated a platform that includes defunding police. “That does not mean no accountability,” Executive Director Blake Strode writes in a column for the St. Louis American. “It does not mean we go without response to or repair of harm. And it certainly does not mean we abandon any commitment to justice. But policing does not provide us with those things. It never has, and it never will. Believing that policing is what preserves accountability and justice is as fantastical as believing that Second Amendment gun rights are what protect ordinary people from tyranny. It is a familiar and deeply rooted claim, but it is a lie.” n
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SHORT ORDERS [SIDE DISH]
Unscripted A pandemic was the one thing Helen Rosenhoffer of BEAST Craft BBQ couldn’t plan Written By
CHERYL BAEHR
H
elen osenhoffer finally felt li e she was finding her groove at A Craft . he has een with the company since and was promoted to director of operations for the entire company in spring of after ave and Megan andus y announced they were opening their second location, A utcher loc , in the rove. etting oth restaurants to where she wanted them to e too some time, ut y this winter, she felt li e she could relin uish some of the day to day floor management to focus on igger picture pro lems. hen a pandemic altered her plans. All of this stuff was happening, and it was so unfortunate ecause was ust starting to e a le to do my o of focusing on oth locations,” osenhoffer says. was finally starting to get a grip on what my o was. t. ouis A utcher loc was starting to do very well, and usy season was upon us. hen, everything happened. feel li e when come ac , will have to learn how to do my o all over again.” osenhoffer new she was going to e away from her o for a few months even efore the C out rea hit t. ouis. n April, she had her second child, so she d already planned on ta ing maternity leave. owever, the pandemic dramatically changed what she imagined her leave to loo li e. nstead of wor ing as close to her due date as she wanted, she had no choice ut to pac up in March following the andus y s tough decision to temporarily close the restaurant. earing for the safety of their employees and customers, the restaurant shut down all of its operations, e cept for A utcher loc s utcher shop, furloughed its staff and plunged
Helen Rosenhoffer expected to take time off for maternity leave, not a coronavirus-forced shutdown. | JEN WEST into uncertainty. t was weird to go from, verything is going to e K to h, no, we are going to lose all this product in the wal in, ” osenhoffer recalls. e didn t now how to get customers in and still ma e them feel safe and our employees too. e didn t want them to feel li e they had to come in and put themselves and their families at ris . aying them off wasn t easy, ut we had to do it so they had a o to come ac to.” ven with a new a y in tow, osenhoffer is doing everything she can to help the andus ys weather the storm. ow reopened for ta eout, delivery and patio service, oth locations of A are trying to navigate the new normal of what dining out loo s li e. As a self descri ed policies and procedures stic ler, osenhoffer is em racing the challenge of figuring out how a restaurant should run in such a time of upheaval. t s een difficult, ut she sees it as an opportunity. thin it gave restaurants a time to loo and see what we can do etter,” osenhoffer says. hether it s renovations, menu changes, a deep cleaning, Meggan and ave have done a great o at trying to turn this negative situation into a positive one and coming up with ways to etter our environment for the staff and the customers.” or now, osenhoffer is doing her
part from afar, alancing motherhood with monumental changes in her professional life. hough she admits it s hard eing away from the usiness, she nows she s where she needs to e right now and will e ac at it with the restaurant in no time. t s weird not eing in the restaurant and not having control over policies and procedures right now, ecause am such a psychopath a out that,” osenhoffer says. want to ma e sure everyone is following them. ta e phone calls and tal to the general managers, ut it s never the same when you are sitting at home. want to e a le to support them and help them and ma e sure we are all ma ing the right choices together and moving forward together. ometimes, feel li e am a andoning them, ut they are doing a great o , and am really proud of them.” osenhoffer too a rea from ta ing care of her new a y girl to share her e perience of eing a restaurant professional during the pandemic, what changes she thin s are in store for the industry and what gives her hope during such a challenging time. As a hospitality professional, what do people need to know about what you are going through? e re doing everything we can
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to maintain the est customer service while trying to protect the staff and the customer during this time. What do you miss most about your job? miss feeling productive the most. am a chec list planner type of girl, and love completing tas s. Moving the restaurants in a forward direction is all want to do. What do you miss least? do not miss carrying around three phones. don t have to do that every day, ut when do, it s definitely not the est part of my day. What is one thing you make sure you do every day to maintain a sense of normalcy? chec wor emails multiple times a day and typically have a phone call with avid or Meggan andus y a out what s ne t for the companies. What have you been stress-eating/drinking lately? eat a lot of string cheese. ow much is too much Also, caffeine and wine. have a new a y and a toddler, so you get it. What are the three things you’ve made sure you don’t want to run out of, other than toilet paper? ro en pi a, diapers and my sanity of course You have to be quarantined with three people. Who would you pick? My hus and and two ids. Cliche, now, ut they are pretty great. Once you feel comfortable going back out and about, what’s the first thing you’ll do? efinitely go out to eat and ta e my ids to do something fun pro a ly the oo and then ed rewes What do you think the biggest change to the hospitality industry will be once people return to normal activity levels? really thin that ta eout, cur side and delivery will e a huge part of revenue. ining in may not return to normal for a long time. thin people will still e hesitant and choose to ta e their food home to en oy. What is one thing that gives you hope during this crisis? he outpouring support that restaurants in t. ouis has seen from the community. t s ama ing that so many people have come together in such a weird time to support local, and not in ust the restaurant scene. n
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CULTURE
[DUELS]
Stop the Music(al) Fox Theatre says Hamilton performances will not happen in 2020 Written By
DANIEL HILL
T
he show must not go on. Joining large event promoters across the country who are increasingly throwing in the towel on 2020 with the hope that next year is somehow less of an unmitigated disaster, the Fox Theatre announced last week that
this year’s postponed Hamilton run will not be rescheduled until at least 2021. The celebrated musical was originally set to run May 5 to June 7 but was pushed back, like everything else, due to bans on large gatherings, which are meant to slow the spread of coronavirus. The hope had been that the rescheduled dates would come in the fall. But according to Fox director of programming John O’Brien, that’s not gonna happen. e had hoped to find new dates that would enable us to bring the show to St. Louis before the end of this year,” O’Brien says in a statement. “Those options have closed, and we are now looking at new Hamilton dates for the 2021-2022 season. Since the exact dates and length of this engagement cannot be determined at this time, refunds will be given to guests holding tickets for Hamilton at the Fox in 2020.”
According to the statement, season ticket holders and those with single tic ets will e notified y email as to how they’ll receive refunds. Those emails and refunds will only be sent to the original purchaser of the tickets, and this only applies to those who bought tickets directly from the Fox Theatre or MetroTix. “Due to the number of cancellations, the refund process is expected to last 5-6 weeks,” according to the statement. Predictions from major promoters and producers as to when live events such as plays and concerts will be able to resume safely have been particularly bleak as of late. The New York Times reported recently that major concert promoters including Live Nation and AEG are looking at next summer as a realistic time to start expecting large-scale events again. Or, as one Broadway producer summed it up concisely for Vanity
[SPORTS]
Take a Knee Cardinals and Blues players, organizations show support for George Floyd protests Written By
JUSTIN POOLE
I
n August 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and teammate Eric Reid took a knee during the national anthem as a quiet protest against police brutality and racial inequality before a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers. Kaepernick previously had sat during the anthem but decided to kneel after speaking with fellow NFL player and former Green Beret Nate Boyer, who wrote to Kaepernick about his feelings for the flag and national anthem. To put it mildly, people lost their shit. Our ten-pounds-of-whining-baby-bullshitin-a five-pound-bag president seized on the issue, turning it into a flashpoint in the culture wars. “That’s a total disrespect of our heritage. That’s a total disrespect of everything that we stand for,” he said, encouraging owners to act and even suggesting they should “fire” players who protested. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell then sent a league-wide memo encouraging all teams to stand for the anthem, as he felt the issue
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Players from each team have spoken out in recent days, and the Cardinals and Blues organizations even released a joint statement of support. | THEO WELLING was dividing the league from its fans. Kaepernick, despite being an indisputably gifted athlete, went unsigned in the 2017 season, and remains off the field to this day. But as protests against the police killing of George Floyd continue, it seems that many professional athletes — including several in St. Louis — are no longer content to just “stick to sports.” Blues goalie and brick-wall impersonator Jordan Binnington on June 2 denounced racism in a series of Instagram posts. “Over the last couple of days, I have learned what it means to be a true ally towards the black community,” he wrote. “And going forward, I will fight for what is right.” Teammate Marco Scandella joined in, releasing a similar statement. “What hap-
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pened to George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless others is gut wrenching and despicable,” he wrote. “To see human beings consistently targeted and victimized as a result of their skin color is heartbreaking and needs to end right now.” Blues center Ryan O’Reilly added his voice to the chorus as well. “We can and must stand together in our daily lives and remove discrimination and racial prejudice from within,” he wrote. Meanwhile, in the world of St. Louis baseball, Cardinals players Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty and Dexter Fowler, among others, have shared their support on Twitter for protesters. Ultimately, the Blues organization itself put out a joint statement with the Cardinals. “The St. Louis Blues and St. Louis
Those who were hoping to see the smash hit musical this year are out of luck. | JON GITCHOFF Fair: “When can people go to the theater again? Not until there’s a fucking vaccine.” n Cardinals stand united in support of racial equality for all and with those who march peacefully to highlight and protest racism, bigotry and violence,” it reads in part. Somewhat stunningly, even NFL Commissioner Goodell has had an apparent change of heart, releasing a statement of support for protests on Friday. “We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all players to speak out and peacefully protest,” he says. “We, the National Football League, believe that black lives matter.” It seems clear that a shift in public perception is happening. The voices of young black and brown Americans are being heard now more than ever, and now more than ever we need to be listening to and supporting those voices. And while professional sports are often seen as a distraction or a way to divide, sports can also unite us, or even heal us. With athletes and coaches and fans of all colors coming together to say enough is enough, now is the time to stand — or, should the need arise, kneel. This is no longer the time of the angry old white man who wants his ballplayers to just “shut up and play.” This new generation wants you to know exactly where they stand, and a lot of that has to do with one man who had the courage to kneel, even if it could have cost him everything he’d worked for. So let’s make sure we all join him and fight for what is right. When the loudest voices around us scream for division we must scream back for unity. One world, one nation, one people, one team. It’s our only chance to win. n
[ A P O C A LY P S E S O U N D T R A C K ]
Pande-Mix: An End of the World Mixtape
BY CHRIS WARD Each week, former KDHX DJ Chris Ward examines a song from his quarantinebased playlist dealing with isolation, loneliness, hope and germs. This song and more can be found on the Spotify playlist, “Pande-Mix: An End of the World Playlist”: https://spoti.fi/2WZGTJZ.
“Race for the Prize” from The Soft Bulletin (1999) by The Flaming Lips “Two scientists are racing / For the good of all mankind / Both of them side by side / So determined.”
W
hat does it mean to permanently retire a favorite song? In scouring my brain for pandemic-related or pandemic-adjacent playlist songs, not once did this track spring to mind until, without reason, I was just standing at my sink. As Ray Stanz said, mouth hanging open: “It just popped in there.” The first 0.04 seconds of this song are in the indie rock Name That Tune Hall of Fame. The moment that gated drum hits, every time, is like someone rolling up a memory like a newspaper and swatting you in the face. Play it without warning in any coffee shop, and observe the instant Pavlovian responses. I heard “Race for the Prize” for the first time the exact way everyone did: from someone you met in college, the first person you ever met who “collects vinyl.” As you wrestled with this new concept, making sense of why a Flaming Lips record — that one band with that one hit — was in the top one percent of their prized pieces of vinyl was the next mystery. In my case, it was future-roommate-and-portal-to-the-hifi-lo-fi universe, Nick. And, as cliché a High Fidelity plot point as this is, my introduction to The Soft Bulletin by a record nerd would set me on a life-changing path of new music discovery in my post-punk, post-
emo, post wallet chain years. To go from punk to the black-rimmed-glasses world of the Flaming Lips in 2000 was something akin to a Clockwork Orange-style reprogramming. It is also the whitest of music fan trajectories. With groups of friends and soonto-be-ex-wives and ex-boyfriends, we stood slack-jawed though the 2000s at the confetti, inflatable-ball and costumed-animal spectacle that is a Flaming Lips live show. And as those friends and relationships changed, the Flaming Lips live shows did not. Fifth, sixth, eighth, tenth, 50th time …confetti, acid lights, giant Hulk hands, rinse, repeat. You could almost smash cut from me saying “The Flaming Lips? Really?” in 2000 to me and my friend Kate, both in rabbit costumes, in the pouring rain screaming our heads off at LouFest in 2012 (RIP LouFest). That moment made it to the cover of Eleven Magazine (RIP, Eleven), which seems like as good a time as any to close a musical chapter. Eventually, that thing happens that happens with all bands like the Flaming Lips who become part of the skin you live in. They become wallpaper. “Race for the Prize” became like “Yesterday” to me: a great song, and I never need to hear it again. Hell, it embodies “Yesterday” to me. To stare upwards at the vanguard at a Flaming Lips concert in the year 2000, the moment the lights go down, is to exist at the singularity of when your troubles seemed so far away. That is the prize you’ve raced to, and won. And you will never get it back. n
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SAVAGE LOVE STREAMERS BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Everybody: e had our first avage ove ivestream event last hursday night and had such a last A huge crowd of avage ove readers and avage ovecast listeners got together on oom for a live online A that raised more than , for orthwest arvest, an organi ation that supports food an s in my home state. got more uestions than could answer in our allotted time, and so m going to answer as many as can s uee e into this wee s column. ere we go ... Hey, Dan: Is it a red flag or sign of deeper attachment or commitment issues if your long-term partner never tells you he loves you? ve heard people descri e relationships that were three months old as s.” Assuming you re not one of those people assuming you ve een with this guy for more than a year and you ve already said love you” to him and he hasn t said it ac , well, that s a ad sign. ut wouldn t descri e it as a red flag. arly warning signs for physical or emotional a use are red flags not hearing love you” from someone you d li e to hear that from does suc , now ecause ve een there , ut it s not a sign that you re in danger, girl. t s also not proof your partner has attachment or commitment issues he ust might not e interested in attaching or committing to you. ut whatever the case might e, if you re unhappy eing with someone who can t ring himself to say love you” then you shouldn t e with that person. Hey, Dan: Is there a safe way to date/be slutty now? Will there ever be again? I’m poly but live alone so I haven’t had sex in twelve weeks. HELP! hile health officials in most places are urging all to only have se with people we live with mom and dad e cepted over in the etherlands health officials are advising single and horny
utch people to find se uddies.” ne se uddy per person, someone you can meet up with for se , ideally someone who isn t interacting with too many other people. f you can find someone you trust and if you are someone who can e trusted you could go utch. Hey, Dan: My fiancé has an exgirlfriend who just can’t let it go. He’s blocked her on social media, but his mother still follows his ex and is friends with her and they interact at least monthly. Likes, comments, etc. Can I address the issue with his mom or is that just somewhere you don’t go? hy are you monitoring your fianc s e girlfriend s social media mean, if you weren t lur ing on her nstagram, you wouldn t now your future M is li ing and commenting on her photos. ou fianc s mom is an adult and she can follow anyone she li es on nstagram. And if you don t want her to thin you re the to ic one, you won t address this with her. e the change you wanna see in your fianc s e let it go. Hey, Dan: I’ve always wanted to know more about your history with circumcision. My history with circumcision isn t that interesting was present at one circumcision my own , ve never performed a circumcision that recall , and ve encountered oth circumcised and uncircumcised dic s in the wild enoyed them all . Hey, Dan: My wife and I are lesbians who just found out we’re having a baby boy! We’re super excited but had some penis questions. My wife wants to circumcise our son because she says that if he’s uncircumcised he’ll get made fun of in the locker room. Does this happen? How often do boys look at each other’s dicks growing up? he circumcision rate among new orn oys has een falling for decades and now only a little more than half of oys are circumcised at irth. o even if oys were comparing their dic s in loc er rooms and they re not your son won t e alone. And for the record he American
Academy of ediatrics doesn t recommend the procedure and the supposed health enefits a lower ris for urinary tract infections and a lower ris for some se ually transmitted infections aren t a convincing argument in favor of the routine circumcision of male infants. And while the complication rate is low . percent , those complications can range from easily treata le infections to amputation of the glans,” necrosis of the penis,” and death.” is ing your son s life and most important lim to spare him a moment s aw wardness in a loc er room seems unreasona le to me particularly since your son can t consent. Hey, Dan: My partner wants me (F) to peg him! Hooray! Any advice? He is very hot! Thanks! You rock! e should douche lenty of lu e a e it slow ilm it for M Hey, Dan: I’m a bisexual male in California. When is the right time to tell someone I just started dating that I’m bisexual? And how? Mention your ise uality on dating apps which is where most couples meet these days and you won t have to tell someone you re ise ual after you ve started dating them. f you meet someone the old fashioned way school, wor , through friends , tell em right away. t s nothing you should e ashamed of or have to roll out carefully. And eing with someone can t em race and cele rate your se uality is ad for your mental health the more out you are a out eing i, the lower your odds of winding up with someone who has a pro lem with it. t ups your odds of winding up with someone who fetishi es your ise uality, of course, ut if you had to choose etween a partner who disapproves and polices and a partner who drools and wants to watch , you re gonna e way etter off with the droolers. Hey, Dan: Cis poly woman here. My quarantine sexpod contains me and my two male partners. We’ll call them A and B. My partner B has another female partner
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that we’ll call C. Since we’re already “connected” anyway, would it change anything for me to have a threesome with B and C? f is fuc ing C and then coming home and fuc ing you and then you re running down the hall to A, then C is essentially already in your se pod. he igger your se pod, the more people you re in contact with, the greater your ris of contracting and or spreading C . deally C would move in with you and A and if you re all going to e fuc ing each other. ut not having a threesome with and C while is out there fuc ing C won t protect you and A from whatever might ring home from C. Hey, Dan: Gay black male from NYC here. Two months ago I lost my partner of seventeen years to COVID-19. I have a pretty strong support system, but it’s really hitting me really hard right now because my partner was very politically active and supportive of the struggles of black and brown people. I’ve been in therapy but any suggestions or resources for how to deal with such a loss in the midst of all this chaos? m so sorry for your loss and apologi e for not spotting your uestion during the show. m glad you have a strong support system and that you re wor ing with a therapist. f you need more support, your therapist should e a le to refer you to an online grief support group. And ll ust add ... grief isn t something we deal with” and then we re done. t s something we carry with us. And in my e perience time doesn t lighten the load. till, the longer we wal with it, the stronger we get, and the lighter it feels. My heart goes out to you. ay, than you again to everyone who ought a tic et to the avage ove ivestream All proceeds every single cent raised went to orthwest arvest. f anyone reading this in a donating mood right now, you can donate to orthwest arvest directly at northwestharvest.org donate. mail@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter www.savagelovecast.com
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