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Group outraged by reported St. Louis County police brutality during protests

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A group of St. Louis area faith and elected leaders is outraged by reports of individuals being injured, some body-slammed, by police during Saturday protests. Demonstrators and customers were among at least 22 arrested at the St. Louis Galleria Mall.

St. Louis area faith, elected leaders outraged by reported police brutality during Saturday protests

Ongoing demonstrations have occurred in the St. Louis region since a judge’s ruling earlier this month acquitting Jason Stockley of first-degree murder in the death of Anthony Lamar Smith. Stockley, who is white, shot to death Smith, who was African-American, during a 2011 police chase.

Galleria Mall management asked that all of the protesters be removed on Saturday. Police ordered them to leave. Those who allegedly did not follow those demands were arrested.

A photo has circulated online of one of the individuals arrested. A St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer captured a photo of a 13-year-old boy being held down at the mall by law enforcement. Distraught family members were trying to help the boy. He was later released to his parents.

A St. Louis County Police Department officer was transported to a local hospital for a back injury.

More than 100 protesters also gathered outside America’s Center in downtown St. Louis. No one was arrested.

Among the group speaking out about the actions of officers involved in the protests include State Rep. Stacey Newman, D-Richmond Heights, St. Louis County Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray, D, Rev. Karen Anderson – Ward Chapel AME Church and Board Chair of Metropolitan Congregations United; Rev. Cassandra Gould – E.D. of Missouri Faith Voices and Religious Affairs Chair, Missouri NAACP; Rev. Steven Shepard – St. Peters AME Church; Rabbi Susan Talve – Central Reform Congregation.

Rep. Newman says “police riot” tactics during peaceful protests are unacceptable.

“The violence was from the police and that should alarm every single one of us,” says Newman. “That’s why we intend to investigate until we get these answers.”

The group wants investigations by the St. Louis County Councils, U.S. Department of Justice and Missouri Legislature.

“We need to be focusing on unity. We have to stand up against these extreme police tactics,” says Newman. “They need to know that this is not acceptable. This is not anti-law enforcement, but it’s holding them accountable for some of these tactics that are being used.”

Newman says some individuals were denied their medication and access to their attorneys while in jail. Some of those jailed are expected to file lawsuits.

Missourinet has requested a response from the St. Louis County police department.

(VIDEO) State owes counties $19 million in jail payments; Missouri sheriff feels the pain

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Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen hopes the state will pay the nearly $66,000 it says his county is owed so that he can address things like staffing shortages, broken doors, electrical and plumbing problems. In a letter to Missouri counties, the state Corrections Department says funding and an invoicing backlog have led to $19 million in delayed payments to counties for jailing inmates who end up going to prison.

Washington Co Jail

Missouri refunds counties a part of an inmate’s entire local jail stay if that offender goes to state prison – making Missouri unique among most or all other states.

Jacobsen, like most of his Missouri colleagues, face tight budgets, jail overcrowding, aging facilities and not enough staff. As a result, priorities have suffered. Fewer deputies are patrolling the 762 miles of roadway that his department covers.

“We’ve cut every cost we can, in order to provide the best patrols in the county that we can. But something at some point has to give,” Jacobsen said during an interview with Missourinet.

Safety hazards can be found around the building. With the right trick, some cell doors won’t lock or won’t stay locked. Some doors do the exact opposite: it takes a while to get them to open.

“When you’re literally dealing with a budget that is so thin, there’s not room for these issues,” said Jacobsen.

His 26-bed facility can often be found with about twice the number of inmates than beds, sometimes more. Jail officials do not have the ability to separate low-level offenders from violent offenders.

It also has leaky pipes and other plumbing issues that have created black mold. In a 124-year-old complex that already lacks space, the mold is so bad in some rooms that they can’t be used for their original purpose. Mold in an evidence room requires staff to enter the area with a mask on.

“I feel that the prisoners should not have to live with that,” said Jacobsen. “They’re still humans. Even if they’ve been convicted of a crime, they still deserve a clean and sanitary place to stay. If I can’t give them a safe environment, then I’m failing.”

According to Jacobsen, state statute says inmates can sue the sheriff for things like overcrowding or safety issues, not the county commission. He says he’s publicly addressed the jail’s problems many times. Jacobsen has lobbied for a tax increase to pay for a new jail, but the effort failed.

When the state pays up, Jacobsen emphasizes that the money will help but it won’t solve all of the problems he faces.

“There’s not an easy solution here. It’s not a fix all. This is not a Washington County problem,” he said. “This is a state of Missouri problem. This is a United States problem.”

The going rate for the state fiscal year’s county jail reimbursement is $22.58 per day. The figure fluctuates mildly from year to year depending on what the Missouri Legislature and governor approve.

The daily payout might make a dent but it does not cover the jails’ entire daily inmate housing costs. Taxpayers in those counties must cover the rest of the bill.

Current state law does not appear to outline a specific deadline as to when Missouri must pay its board bills by. The department says it has added two staff members to audit invoices.

Of the state’s 114 counties and the City of St. Louis, here’s a list of how much the state says it owes in jail reimbursements.

Greitens’ prepare for Asia trade mission

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Governor Eric Greitens, R, will leave today for a trade mission to China and South Korea – his first since the outsider took office in January. The trip will include meetings with government officials, business executives, and civic and educational partners in Beijing, Shanghai, and Seoul.

First Lady Sheena Greitens, who is a Mizzou professor on East Asian security and democracy/dictatorship, will also be going on the trip.

Greitens’ prepares for first trade mission

The Governor says they have chosen Asia for their first trade mission because of the great opportunity that the state of Missouri has in the Asia-Pacific to increase trade, promote job-creating business growth, attract investment to Missouri, and create educational and cultural ties.

“Our goal is to sell more Missouri products around the world, attract more investment in Missouri’s economy, and create more quality jobs for Missouri families,” says Gov. Greitens.

China and South Korea are two of Missouri’s largest manufacturing export destinations today, and there is tremendous growth potential for Missouri in Asian markets.

More Missouri school districts going to four-day weeks (AUDIO)

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The number of Missouri districts going to school four days a week has increased from 15 to 18 in the past year.

State Rep. Bill Reiboldt (R-Neosho) speaks on the Missouri House floor in 2017 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications}

State Rep. Bill Reiboldt, R-Neosho, tells Missourinet he’s received excellent feedback on four-day weeks, especially in rural areas.

“I’ve had opportunities to talk to a lot of people from teachers to administrators to parents,” Reiboldt says. “Everybody loves it in our area.”

Former Governor Jay Nixon (D) signed the optional four-day school week into law in 2011. Reiboldt, who supports that law, describes a four-day school week as another “tool in the toolbox” for districts.

“We’re saving money on transportation, families like it,” says Reiboldt. “They’ve worked around, you know, where mom and dad are both working. Maybe the grandparents get to stay or get to keep the kids for one day extra.”

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) spokeswoman Sarah Potter says 18 of Missouri’s 518 districts currently have a four-day school week.

That number has increased by three since February.

“It won’t work in every community, we understand that. But it’s working very well, especially in the rural communities in our area,” Reiboldt says.

The 2011 bipartisan law signed by Nixon moved from requiring 174 days of instruction to a total of 1,044 hours for districts that wanted to go to four days.

The Lathrop R-II District in northwest Missouri was the first district to make the change.

DESE says the 18 Missouri school districts that currently have a four-day week are:

** Community R-VI

** Miami R-1

** Harrisburg R-VIII

** East Lynne 40

** Stockton R-1

** Lathrop R-II

** Everton R-III

** Albany R-III

** Jasper County R-V

** Laclede County C-5

** Miller R-II

** Pierce City R-VI

** Maries County R-II

** Holliday C-2

** Wellsville Middletown R-1

** Montgomery County R-II

** Orearville R-IV

** Niangua R-V

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Bill Reiboldt, R-Neosho, which was recorded at the Statehouse in Jefferson City on September 13, 2017:

 

 

Missouri State Rep to resign to take parole board post

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Rep. Paul Fitzwater, R-Potosi, tells Missourinet he will resign today. Republican Governor Eric Greitens has appointed Fitzwater to serve on the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole.

Rep. Paul Fitzwater

Fitzwater was elected in 2010 to serve in the Missouri House of Representatives. Due to term limits, 2017 would have been his fourth and final term in that chamber.

Fitzwater has chaired the House’s Corrections and Public Institutions Committee. He has also served on a subcommittee studying the workplace environment and conduct in Missouri’s prisons. The latter panel’s investigation involves dozens of allegations of harassment, intimidation and abuse by corrections employees toward other staff. The culture has led to the state paying out more than $10 million during a five year period to settle such lawsuits.

Greitens’s appointment of Fitzwater comes after former board member Don Ruzicka played word games with an unnamed state worker during the parole hearings of prisoners. A report details them allegedly engaging in a game where they tried to get inmates to say certain words or song titles, and would keep score of results.

Ruzicka, a former Republican State Representative from Mt. Vernon, was appointed to the board in 2012 by former Democratic Governor Jay Nixon. He made $85,000 in his position. Board members serve six-year terms.

Missouri task force continues search for solution to road funding at Wednesday hearing

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A 23 member panel created by the state legislature this year is holding its third of six public meetings at different locations around the state on Wednesday afternoon.

I-70 corridor in Missouri, photo courtesy of MODOT

The 21st Century Transportation Task Force is gathering in northeast Missouri’s Kirksville.  The group’s stated mission is to assess the state road system and determine the funding source and level needed to sustain it.

Financing is currently funneled through through user fees, the motor fuel tax, the sales tax on vehicle purchases, and registration and driver’s license fees.

Missouri faces hurdles unseen in most other states because it maintains all of its lettered roads that would otherwise be handled at the county level.  As a result, it has the seventh largest road system with over 33,000 miles.

But its current funding level is 47th in the country.  The low ranking has been attributed to a failure to adjust the user fees for inflation over time.

The motor fuel tax was last increased 21 years ago by 6 cents, as part of a bipartisan 1992 deal agreed upon by former Governor John Ashcroft (R) and a legislature controlled by Democrats.  Fees for vehicle registration and drivers’ licenses have not increased since 1984, while some other fees haven’t increased since 1969.

At least two Republican lawmakers on the task force agree on a plan to address the funding needs.  Both Representative Bill Reiboldt of Neosho and Senator Dave Schatz of Sullivan think the motor fuel tax should be hiked by 10 cents a gallon.

Schatz says the increase would be enough to have an immediate impact on roads.  “It would address the needs that we have going forward, probably for a length of time,” says Schatz.  “It may not be the end all, do all as far as into the future, but obviously it would be very impactful right off the bat.  And (we’d be) able to make sure that we’re doing more than just maintaining…treading water.”

A ten cent rise would bring Missouri into closer proximity with most of its eight surrounding states.  A similar hike in Iowa brought its fuel tax up to 30 cents a gallon in 2015.  The governor and legislature passed the increase there.

But under a law known within the Missouri Constitution as the Hancock Amendment, voters in the Show-Me state would have to approve any meaningful tax increase.

Recent highway funding proposals haven’t been well received by Missouri voters.  In 2014, they roundly rejected a plan by lawmakers for a constitutional amendment that would have increased Missouri’s sales tax by three-quarters of a cent for 10 years.

The boost would have raised an estimated $5.4 billion over its lifetime.  Several other measures in previous years also failed to generate sufficient ballot support.

Schatz thinks voters will face unfavorable consequences if they continue rejecting proposals that lawmakers place before them.  “The legislature is either going to have to do something, or we’re ultimately going to be faced with a decision that some areas are going to probably have some diminished services at some point in time.  And they’re not going to like that at all either.”

The first term state Senator thinks it might require a drastic event to get people to reconsider transportation funding.  “When that flood occurred here this year, having the interstate shut down, people said ‘Wow, that’s a big deal’,” Schatz says.

Historical flooding in late April and early May wiped out the pavement on a section of I-44 south of Rolla.  Crews had to apply a fresh coat of asphalt, which left the highway closed for several days.  Flooding from the same storms closed another section of I-44 near St. Louis for numerous days.

The Missouri Department of Transportation has pegged the cost to fully finance the state’s transportation needs at an additional $825 million per year.

Broken down, those expenses include $170 million to maintain roadways, $275 million in economic development and safety projects, $300 million to reconstruct interstate highways, and $80 million to improve mobility options.

One Republican lawmaker on the task force, Senator Bill Eigel of St. Charles, is against raising any taxes to pay for transportation.  “I think there is a lot of frustration out there from citizens who are tired of government officials solving problems simply by asking the taxpayer for more money,” says Eigel.

Among other things, Eigel would like to see the state stop paying for the entire 33,000 mile network it currently supports.

A Democratic member of the task force, Florissant Mayor Thomas Schneider, is frustrated with what he sees at GOP obstruction to road funding.

“That seems to be the Republican dogma right now, that we shouldn’t have any taxes for any reason, no matter what,” Schneider says.  “That mentality needs to change, so that we’ll be more open minded to embrace progress.  We could find intelligent ways to make the progress, rather than be obstructionist to progress.”

The Kirksville 21st Century Transportation Task Force hearing takes place at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.  The topic at this meeting will be “The Future of Transportation (modern technology); beyond roads and bridges (other modes, transit, etc.).”

Missouri Board of Education proposes $6.1 billion for next fiscal year

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The state will receive a $6.1 billion budget request for the next fiscal year to fund Missouri’s K through 12 public schools – an increase of about $100 million from the previous year’s request.

Missouri Board of Education proposes $6.1 billion for next fiscal year

For the first time in Missouri history, the state legislature and governor have fully funded the formula used to finance Missouri’s schools. That move comes at a cost. Board President Charlie Shields, a former Missouri Senate President Pro Tem, says the board’s proposal includes a $98 million increase to fully fund the formula.

“We realize there are a lot of pressures on the state budget,” says Shields. “Certainly, you look at that $98 million foundation formula and that’s a huge pressure on the state budget.”

Department and board officials will explain minimums needed to fund core items like busing. The agency’s transportation sector is underfunded by about $180 million.

Shields says about $48 million of the proposed increase is also from newly-required pre-kindergarten funding.

“Because it (the formula) was fully funded, it triggered this piece for pre-K education. This is a significant increase in the formula cost but is driven by legislation,” says Shields.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has about 1,700 full-time equivalent workers.

State law requires the department to have a budget request to the Missouri Office of Administration by October 1.

The state’s overall fiscal year budget is about $27 billion, with about $8.2 billion, or about one-third, sucked up by the state’s Medicaid costs.

Missouri Auditor: Lawsuits, settlements against state have cost $115 million

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State Auditor Nicole Galloway, D, says an audit of lawsuits and settlements involving the state have cost Missourians more than $115 million during a six year period. It also found installments out of a fund used to make lawsuit payments against the state were consistently higher than budgeted amounts.

Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway

In fiscal year 2017, for example, the actual amount spent was more than $17 million higher than what was budgeted. These payments are funded by general revenue, which also funds services such as K-12 and higher education. Over a six year period, expenses from the fund totaled more than $79 million.

“The legislature is essentially budgeting by guesswork, often using the same figure year after year, ignoring a history of high legal expenses,” Galloway says. “Because schools and other state services compete for the same scarce state dollars, we must bring more integrity to the budgeting process.”

Galloway’s office also examined settlements and payments outside of the state settlement fund. In less than three years, these payments totaled another $36 million by 13 entities including state universities, the Department of Transportation and Department of Conservation.

Galloway says the Office of Administration, which administers the fund in partnership with the Attorney General’s Office, relies on an outdated system that lacks the ability to produce basic electronic reports. She says this makes it difficult to monitor the nature of the cases and identify if an agency is experiencing a high volume of a particular type of claim.

“A culture of workplace discrimination does not pop up overnight, but the current system makes it hard to track and then address these types of problems,” says Galloway. “With proper tools in place, the state would have the ability to identify and intervene, instead of blindly shelling out millions in taxpayer dollars and allowing inappropriate conduct to continue.”

Last winter, media reports surfaced involving a series of sexual harassment and discrimination claims about Missouri Department of Corrections employees. Reporting at the time showed a significant increase in payments and judgments related to employee discrimination between 2012 and 2016. The audit examined $4.2 million in Corrections Department legal expenses, 75% of which involved claims of employment discrimination.

The complete report is available here. Additional information about settlements outside of the Legal Expense Fund can be found here.

Missouri House Budget Chair Fitzpatrick: “We’re going to work on a solution” (AUDIO)

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Top Republican leaders in the Missouri Legislature have announced a cooperative effort to try to preserve in-home and nursing care for more than 8,000 disabled Missourians.

Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, and House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, want the two chambers to develop a funding solution to preserve the care.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick speaks on the House floor on September 13, 2017 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, also wants to see a solution.

“Listen, I feel optimistic that members of the House and Senate can come to an agreement,” Fitzpatrick tells Missourinet.

Pro Tem Richard and Speaker Richardson want to see a plan developed in the next three weeks.

Fitzpatrick addressed the issue on the House floor, during Wednesday’s veto session.

“There’s 197 of us (Missouri lawmakers) on both sides of this building and no one of us can do this by ourselves,” Fitzpatrick says. “So, we’re going to work on it. We’re going to work on a solution.”

Richard and Richardson also want lawmakers to consider restoring provider rate cuts, including cuts to private duty nurses who administer in-home neonatal care.

The Pro Tem says it’s the job of lawmakers, even in tough budget years, to protect “our most vulnerable citizens.”

“I’m hopeful that over the next three weeks as outlined by the Speaker and the Pro Tem that we can work out a compromise that both chambers and both parties can agree that is workable and moving forward,” says Fitzpatrick.

Missouri House Democrats unsuccessfully tried to override Governor Eric Greitens’ (R) veto of the fund sweep bill this week.

State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood, says lawmakers have provided corporate tax breaks, while cutting services for the elderly and disabled.

The Missouri House voting board at the September 2017 veto session (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Clem Smith, D-Velda Village Hills, says the cuts will be devastating, adding he thinks the 8,000 figure is low.

“So something is going to devastate this 8,000 which I think is a low number,” Smith says. “It’s going to devastate other people. There’s going to be a multiplier effect and I would like to say it’s going to be multiplied by four at least.”

Greitens and Fitzpatrick called the fund sweep proposed by Lavender and other Democrats a “one-time fix.”

The House override vote failed on Wednesday 49-106.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick, which was recorded on September 13, 2017 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Missouri lawmaker’s Facebook post referred to House Ethics Committee

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The House Ethics Committee will investigate a western Missouri lawmaker’s controversial Facebook post.

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty addresses the Capitol Press Corps on September 13, 2017 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, delivered an emotional speech on the floor during Wednesday’s veto session in Jefferson City. She blasted State Rep. Warren Love’s, R-Osceola, August Facebook post about vandalism of a Confederate statue in Springfield.

“On Facebook, the gentleman specifically wrote, this is totally against the law. I hope they are found and hung from a tree with a long rope,” Beatty says.

Beatty wrote a letter to Love on Monday, saying that he has “forfeited the right to hold elected office.” Beatty also addressed the issue with the Capitol Press Corps on Tuesday.

“As House members, we have to hold our self to a higher standard,” says Beatty. “And his (Love’s) comments were absolutely out of line. He never takes into account the impact that that has, particularly on the minority members.”

Representative Love has apologized for what he calls his “extremely poor choice of words”. He says his post was not advocating violence, but was calling for prosecuting “the offender to the fullest extent of the law.”

House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, tells Beatty and the full House that the matter has been referred to the Ethics Committee.

“Lady, my understanding is that you’ve filed a resolution to that effect and pursuant to House Resolution 74 governing our ethics procedures that matter will stand referred today to the Ethics Committee,” Richardson says.

House Majority Leader Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee’s Summit, chairs the Ethics Committee. State Rep. Gina Mitten, D-St. Louis, is Vice Chair. Mitten is the Assistant Minority Floor Leader.

Love has told Missourinet his comment was “cowboy-ism“, adding that he does not support violence.

Here is the full statement that Love issued on August 31:

“I am deeply sorry for the extremely poor choice of words I used to convey my frustration with the act of vandalism that took place at the Springfield National Cemetery. Where I am from the expression I used simply means we should prosecute the offender to the fullest extent of the law, but I understand how what I wrote offended those who saw it as advocating for violence. I do not in any way support violent or hateful acts toward the perpetrator of the crime. I apologize for using inappropriate and offensive language to convey these thoughts and ask for the forgiveness of my colleagues, constituents, and all Missourians.”