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Blunt repeats call for U.S. Justice Department to restore federal police reviews

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U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, is calling again for the U.S. Department of Justice to restore federal reviews of police departments to help root out misconduct and make changes. Since the death of George Floyd of Minnesota, adjusting police practices has received greater attention.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri

Blunt says he plans to co-sponsor South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott’s proposed changes to police departments. Scott’s plan would focus on police training and would withhold federal grant money if police departments do not ban the use of chokeholds and no-knock warrants, among other things.

During a press conference in Washington, Blunt says the president can step in and make a difference.

“An even more speedy way to respond than the legislative process is the executive branch doing what they can, as soon as they can, to make a difference. Many of you know I think that the Justice Department has real tools to go in and give advice to departments,” says Blunt. “Sometimes asked for, sometimes the Justice Department needs to insist that they be in there giving that advice,” says Blunt. “That’s not the national government taking over police, it’s the Justice Department looking at one department with a systemic problem and deciding they’re going to help solve that problem.”

Blunt and Missouri Democratic Congressmen Lacy Clay and Emanuel Cleaver all say in the past, the federal agency has successfully used the process, including in Ferguson after Michael Brown, Jr. was killed.

Blunt’s office says U.S. Attorney General William Barr has not responded to Blunt’s request to reinstate the reviews.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Missouri protests continue over the death of Minnesota’s George Floyd

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Hundreds of protesters have lined streets in Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia, and the St. Louis area this weekend chanting phrases like “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “No justice, no peace”. They have been calling attention to this week’s death of George Floyd, an African-American man in Minneapolis. A white police officer is accused of third-degree murder after pinning Floyd to the ground by pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for about eight minutes.

Photo courtesy of KMBC-TV

The casualty is stirring up the pain felt when 18-year-old Michael Brown, Jr. was shot to death in 2014 by a Ferguson police officer. Brown, an unarmed African-American man, was killed by Darren Wilson, who is white.

Brown’s death led to protests for days on the streets of Ferguson, looting, and vandalism – some of the same acts happening in Minneapolis, Atlanta, and elsewhere during protests. His death also sparked a movement driven to stop unarmed African-Americans from getting killed by law enforcement.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas tells KMBC-TV he wants this weekend’s protesters to work for change in the community between African-Americans and police.

“What we are not out here to do is act a fool, is to have generalized hooliganism, is to do something that will, I think, tarnish not just the life of George Floyd but also to tarnish, I think, what is a wonderful peaceful rally,” he says.

Lucas, who is African-American, spoke with passion about bringing people together – not driving them apart.

“We’re not here to just try to start something that is tangential to what the goal of us is – is to make sure that people can live equally, to make sure that people can walk around feeling safe, to make sure that every black mother in this city has the chance to say ‘I know my son’s going to come back and he’s not going to get shot by somebody on the street, he’s not going to get shot by the police, he’s not going to get messed by somebody in those different areas.’ That’s all I’m asking,” says Lucas. “And that’s all we want today.”

Taylar Johnson Coody spoke with heavy emotion.

“I’m tired of having to wake up and go to social media to see every, I’m sorry, of having to see another black person on the floor. I’m tired of people dying and I’m tired of having to come out here and protest for the people I love and care about,” she tells KMBC.

In Kansas City, some protesters have been arrested and police have used pepper spray on some individuals. On Twitter, the Kansas City Police Department confirmed officers are using tear gas to keep people off of streets.

In the St. Louis region today, protesters lined the streets in Clayton, University City, and in Ferguson. Some demonstrators blocked traffic on Interstate 70.

State Representative Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, spoke during today’s rally.

“This is our moment. Let’s make it right. This is our moment to show the world that we ain’t f***ing around no more,” he says. “Just because we’re mad don’t make us violent. Just because we’re pissed don’t make us terrorists.”

Before an Urban League donation drive today, Missouri Congressman Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, said there should be justice for George Floyd.

“If George Floyd would have been white, would he have died on the street like an animal begging for mercy while he struggled to breathe,” asks Clay. “The three officers who stood by and did absolutely nothing to save his life must be charged as accessories to murder.”

After Brown’s death, Clay helped to create a consent decree between the City of Ferguson and the U.S. Department of Justice to help change policing practices.

Here are scenes from earlier today in southwest Missouri’s Springfield:

In response to the protests, Gov. Mike Parson has declared a state of emergency. He has signed an executive order giving the Missouri Adjutant General or his designee the power to activate National Guard soldiers if necessary. In a press release, Parson says the Missouri National Guard and the Missouri Highway Patrol stand ready to support local authorities.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of George Floyd. We are also saddened by the acts of violence that have transpired across our nation and state in response to this event. At this time, we are taking a proactive approach to protect Missouri and its people,” the governor says. “Citizens have the right to peacefully assemble and protest, and the State of Missouri is committed to protecting the lawful exercise of these rights.”

Parson says despite the many peaceful assemblies, other events have created conditions of distress and hazards to the safety, welfare, and property of residents and visitors that are beyond the capacities of local authorities.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

GOP Senate Candidates talk Holder, ‘Fast & Furious’ (AUDIO)

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Two of the GOP Candidates for the U.S. Senate Seat of Claire McCaskill are calling out the nation’s Attorney General, who is now facing disciplinary action by Congress.

Republican Senate Candidates Sarah Steelman, Todd Akin and John Brunner.

A congressional committee will vote next week on whether to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for failing to cooperate in the investigation into the “Fast & Furious” gun trafficking sting in which the ATF allowed suspected drug cartel members to buy guns, in order to trace them to higher-level cartel targets.

At a GOP Senate candidate debate at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, businessman John Brunner and Congressman Todd Akin were asked about Fast & Furious.

Steelman says Holder lied to Congress. “Well I’d start by firing Eric Holder if I was the President of the United States.”

Akin says Holder should be forced to testify before Congress. “We have to aggressively track this particular problem down to its source, and we have to prosecute everybody in the line that had anything to do with this and the tragic death of people that are trying to serve our country … and this thing goes an awful lot higher than just the agency.”

Businessman John Brunner says Fast & Furious is a snapshot of out-of-control government.

“This kind of bureaucratic, top-down government has had a great example here in a very tragic situation, and I would never have supported that program.”

The debate was hosted by St. Louis radio station FM Newstalk 97.1.

AUDIO:  Listen to the debate, 1:17

Trooper who died during 2011 flood honored at Missouri Capital (AUDIO)

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The House has issued a resolution honoring the Highway Patrol trooper who died last year in the flood of 2011. Trooper Fred Guthrie, Junior and his dog, Reed, were apparently swept away by  flood water while surveying a flooded section of Highway 111 in Holt County, August 1.

Teresa (left) and Amber Guthrie receive the resolution from Representative Nick Marshall on the House Floor. Picture courtesy, Missouri House Communications.

The Resolution was presented to Guthrie’s wife Teresa and his daughter Amber, who received two standing ovations from the House.

Representative Nick Marshall (R-Platte City) presented the resolution, saying Guthrie’s 17-year career was full of examples of his willingness to serve. “On June 22, 2007 during which a severe storm arose on Smithville Lake, he acted heroically in saving people on that lake. He also received the Missouri Department of Public Safety Employee of the Month in June 2007 and November 2007 as well as the Missouri State Employee of the Month in December 2007. He received the northwest Missouri Law Enforcement Award for Valor in 2007 and the Missouri Medal of Valor that same year.”

AUDIO:  Hear the presentation of the resolution to Teresa and Amber Guthrie, 3:54

The House Transportation Committee has also held a hearing on a bill that would name a section of I-29 in Platte County for Trooper Guthrie.  Superintendent of the Highway Patrol, Colonel Ron Replogle, told the Committee, “Certainly Trooper Guthrie was every sense of that definition a hero in his service and protection for this state.”

AUDIO:  Colonel Ron Replogle talks to the Committee about Trooper Fred Guthrie, Jr, 7:00