St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden Archives

Missouri’s governor signs witness protection and St. Louis Police residency bills into law

September 22, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(Reporter Ty Albright from Missourinet Joplin affiliate KZRG contributed to this story)

Missouri’s governor says two bills he signed into law on Monday will make communities safer. The two bills were critical components of the governor’s recent special session on violent crime.

State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on August 24, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson (R) signed bipartisan witness protection legislation into law. The bill creates a pretrial witness protection fund where law enforcement agencies can provide resources for the security of victims, witnesses and their immediate families.

“Over the last several months, several years, we’ve seen that major crime, those homicides keep going up and up and up in the state of Missouri,” Parson tells reporters in southwest Missouri’s Carthage.

State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, sponsored the witness protection bill. It was approved by the Missouri Senate 29-0, and the House approved it by a 147-3 vote.

The Patterson bill does not include funding. Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, told lawmakers in August that if they approve the Patterson bill, Governor Parson will likely call another special session to fund the program.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, issued a statement on Monday, focusing on the funding issue. Merideth says Governor Parson “is more interested in photo-ops than doing the critical work to tackle the causes of crime.”

“Instead of actually taking action to keep communities safe, the Governor is signing a law that is completely unfunded – and as a result it will do little to reduce crime. The Governor should have ensured the program was funded during the special session,” Representative Merideth’s statement reads, in part.

Governor Parson also signed legislation into law on Monday that eliminates the residency requirement for St. Louis police officers, firefighters and EMS personnel.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden traveled to Jefferson City several times during the special session to testify for the bill, saying his department desperately needs more officers due to the surge in violence. St. Louis has had 198 homicides in 2020. The city had 194 in all of 2019. The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reported Sunday that St. Louis is on pace to have 240 homicides this year, the highest in 25 years.

Governor Parson says the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is currently short by more than 140 officers, and that House Bill 46 can help fill that gap.

State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, sponsored the bill, which was backed by the Missouri Police Chiefs Association and the St. Louis Police Officers Association.

Bill opponents say St. Louis residents feel safer with police officers living in their neighborhoods. Opponents also note that Representative Hicks is from St. Charles County.

The Missouri Senate approved the Hicks bill on a 25-5 vote, and the House approved it 117-35. Governor Parson plans a ceremonial signing of the Hicks bill on Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis.

“We have a serious problem with violent crime here in Missouri, and we have seen it escalate even more in recent months,” Governor Parson says. “HB 66 and HB 46 are valuable tools that will build on our efforts to combat violent crime, support law enforcement officers and make our communities safer.”

Kansas City has recorded 144 homicides in 2020, compared to 113 at this time last year.

St. Louis Police Chief: “We desperately need more officers and we need them now”

September 2, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation eliminating the residency requirement for St. Louis police officers, firefighters and EMS personnel is heading to the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City after being approved Tuesday in committee.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden testifies before the Missouri House Judiciary Committee in Jefferson City on August 17, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee approved the bill by a party-line 5-2 vote. State Sens. Karla May, D-St. Louis, and Brian Williams, D-University City, cast the two no votes.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden traveled to Jefferson City on Tuesday to testify for the bill, saying “we (St. Louis Police) desperately need more officers and we need them now.” During his testimony, Hayden discussed recent violence against his officers.

“That’s seven officers shot, one officer shot and killed in the line of duty and one retired captain shot and killed in the past three months,” Hayden testifies.

St. Louis Police officer Tamarris Bohannon was shot and killed in the line of duty this weekend. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has charged suspect Thomas Kinworthy, 43, with first degree murder and numerous other felonies.

Chief Hayden says his department is currently down 145 officers and that the residency requirement is the greatest challenge his department has with recruitment and retention. Hayden testifies that there has been an unprecedented surge in gun violence in St. Louis in the past 12 weeks, with the city averaging more than nine homicides per week.

“Bringing us up to 183 homicides compared to 137 at the same time last year. 32 homicides in June, 53 in July and now 29 in August,” says Hayden.

The Missouri Police Chiefs Association and the St. Louis Police Officers Association testified for the legislation on Tuesday.

State Public Advocate Arnie Dienoff testified against it, saying the only elected official in St. Louis who supports the bill is Mayor Lyda Krewson. He also says the bill only applies to St. Louis and not Kansas City, Springfield or Columbia.

Dienoff notes the bill sponsor, State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, is not from St. Louis City.

State Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, and other bill opponents have also said that St. Louis residents feel safer with officers living in their neighborhoods.

Chief Hayden testifies that no other department in the St. Louis region has a residency rule, and says citizens want more visibility and more enforcement.

The Missouri State Council of Firefighters also testified for Hicks’ bill on Tuesday, saying St. Louis is now down 32 EMS staffers.

Missouri Senate committees approved four other crime bills on Tuesday, including witness protection legislation from State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, that would create a fund to provide security to witnesses, potential witnesses and their immediate families in criminal proceedings or investigations.

All five bills are part of Governor Mike Parson’s special session call on violent crime.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, told Missourinet last week that the juvenile certification bill is dead.

Missouri House gets to work today on six crime bills – not seven

August 24, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri House of Representatives gets down to business today on a special legislative session about crime. Gov. Mike Parson cites the state’s increasing crime rate as his reason for calling the extraordinary session.

Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, and Assistant Minority Floor Leader Tommie Pierson, D-St. Louis, brief Capitol reporters on March 5, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The chamber is expected to debate and take a preliminary vote on six bills today. Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, says there was a lot of pushback on both sides of the aisle about the Senate’s approach. Instead of the Senate’s wide-ranging package, House Republican leadership has broken up each key component into separate bills.

“Logistically, instead of making their members vote yes or no on a bill that had a lot of really bad stuff in it, breaking it up allows them to pass the pieces that they want and not pass the other pieces,” she says.

One contentious piece would remove a requirement for St. Louis police officers to live within the city. St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden says lifting the condition would help to boost recruitment. Hayden says his department has a shortage of about 130 officers at a time when violence is on the rise in his city. Sen. Jamilah Nasheed says the state does not need to get involved in this local control item because St. Louisans will be voting on the very issue in November.

A bill Quade and others in both parties have a big problem with is one that would let judges decide whether 16 to 18-year-olds should be prosecuted as adults for certain crimes using weapons. A House committee increased the age minimum to 16, instead of the Senate’s bill making the minimum 14 years old.

A bill absent from today’s lineup is one that would let the Missouri Attorney General get involved in some St. Louis murder cases. Parson expanded his special session call to urge lawmakers to pass the measure.

“It seems as though that is not a priority issue from the Republican majority in the House,” Quade says.

The Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys might have something to do with it. The group of 115 Missouri prosecutors, many being Republicans, is not on board with the governor’s bid to let the State Attorney General get involved in local cases. It says such measures undermine the independence and autonomy of locally elected prosecutors and any prosecutors seeking help can reach out to the association and get the support they need.

Some Republicans have been critical of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s handling of former Governor Eric Greitens’s invasion of privacy case involving his ex-mistress. Parson and Attorney General Eric Schmitt, both Republicans, have also publicly disagreed with Gardner, a Democrat, for prosecuting an affluent couple who pointed guns at protesters walking through their neighborhood in June.

Kansas City is on pace to have its highest murder rate in history. However, the governor’s spokesperson, Kelli Jones, says St. Louis has reached a record number of murders and a growing backlog of murder cases. She says Parson’s efforts are currently to assist St. Louis.

Quade maintains the special session bills do nothing to prevent crime.

“We need to be looking at funding in a much more equitable way – an intentional way. Then we also need to be addressing the larger-scale problems around police reform, around making sure that we are funding social workers to go out on the scene, you know things that even police officers have been asking for. I feel like the way that this special session has been handled does nothing to get to before the crime happens.”

Other bills focused on during this special session would:

*Create a witness protection fund to keep witnesses and their families safe before trial

*Toughen the penalty for anyone who sells or gives a gun to a juvenile

*Make it a crime to assist someone 17 or younger to commit a weapons offense

St. Louis Police residency requirement legislation heading to Missouri House floor

August 17, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation that eliminates the residency requirement for St. Louis Police officers has been approved by the Missouri House Judiciary Committee. Monday afternoon’s vote was 12-4.

State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, testifies before the Missouri House Judiciary Committee on August 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The bill is a key part of Governor Mike Parson’s special session call on violent crime.

State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, the bill sponsor, presented his bill and testified before the committee on Monday. Hicks tells State Rep. Justin Hill, R-Lake St. Louis, that improving public safety in St. Louis will help the entire state.

“This is a statewide thing,” Hicks testifies.

“St. Louis is our economic hub, and we have a crime problem,” Hill tells Hicks. “And we’ve identified that policemen that are being forced to live in there are making decisions to move out so that their families can feel safer.”

House Bill 46 was amended during the hearing. It now also eliminates the residency requirements for St. Louis firefighters and EMS personnel, and has a three-year sunset clause.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden traveled to Jefferson City to testify for the Hicks bill, saying his department is more than 100 officers short. Chief Hayden tells state lawmakers that St. Louis has had 169 homicides this year, compared to 125 at this time last year.

“As of today, (the) St. Louis Police Department is down 143 officers from its authorized strength. We continue to be challenged by meeting the demands of this ongoing gun violence, continuous demonstrations. Our officers have had to endure 12-hour shifts,” Hayden says.

Chief Hayden says there were 53 St. Louis homicides in July, and 16 so far in August.

He also says six St. Louis police officers have been shot in the past few months, and that retired Police Captain Dorn was shot and killed.

Advocacy group “Empower Missouri” testified against the bill. Former State Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford, D-St. Louis, is the organization’s policy director. She says when officers live in communities and know their neighbors, they can create partnerships and strategies for reducing crime and unhealthy living conditions.

Mott Oxford testifies that Empower Missouri would rather see more investment in St. Louis schools.

“And the solution is for us to invest in communities, so that we all have safe communities and good schools,” says Mott Oxford.

Oxford also notes St. Louis residents will be casting ballots in November, on residency requirements. She says Missouri lawmakers should recognize the right of St. Louis City to govern itself.

Chief Hayden has testified that the residency requirement is the greatest challenge that his department has with recruitment and retention.

The four no votes were from Democrats: State Reps. Gina Mitten, D-Richmond Heights, Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis, Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, and Robert Sauls, D-Independence.

The Judiciary Committee also unanimously approved two other crime bills on Monday.

The committee voted 17-0 for witness protection legislation from State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit. It would create a pretrial witness protection services fund, to be administered by the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) to law enforcement agencies. The money would be used to provide security to witnesses, potential witnesses and their immediate families in criminal proceedings or investigations.

The Judiciary Committee also voted 17-0 to approve legislation from State Rep. Barry Hovis, R-Cape Girardeau, that increases penalties for witness and victim tampering.

Missouri House committees to hear crime bills on Monday; Kendrick wants to expand special session call

August 14, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Three Missouri House committees plan hearings on Monday afternoon in Jefferson City, relating to the special session on violent crime.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon, and Majority Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, announced earlier this week that they would simplify the process with single-subject bills to protect the integrity of the lawmaking process and to ensure the issues are thoroughly vetted.

Missouri House Judiciary Committee Chairman David Gregory, R-St. Louis County, checks paperwork at a hearing on August 10, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Ben Peters at House Communications)

The House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by State Rep. David Gregory, R-St. Louis County, will hear three bills on Monday, including legislation from State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, that would eliminate the residency requirement for St. Louis Police officers.

The Hicks bill says that St. Louis Police cannot impose a residency requirement on their officers, more stringent than a one-hour response time. St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden has testified that the residency requirement is the greatest challenge that his department has with recruitment and retention. Opponents of the plan say it’s safer for neighborhoods to have the officers living in the city.

The Judiciary Committee will also hear a bill on Monday about witness protection. State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, has filed legislation that would create a pretrial witness protection services fund, which would be administered by the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) to law enforcement agencies. The money would be used to provide security to witnesses, potential witnesses and their immediate families in criminal proceedings or investigations.

The Judiciary Committee will also hold a hearing on legislation from State Rep. Barry Hovis, R-Cape Girardeau, regarding witness and victim tampering.

The House Special Committee on Criminal Justice will hold a Monday hearing on legislation from State Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, which would allow Missouri courts to certify some juveniles as adults for violent weapons offenses.

Governor Mike Parson (R) has called for this provision, saying it’s aimed at violent crime, such as murder and rape.

But State Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, and other critics say it will lock up children and put them in prison with violent offenders and murderers. Aldridge and others protested in downtown Jefferson City this week.

“Charge them as an adult because that is how we are going to fix violence- by being tough on crime to individuals that have made a mistake and should be held accountable but you are charging our youngest babies,” Aldridge said Thursday. “When do we go to ten? When do we go to nine? What’s going to be next? Eight? Seven? We are locking up literally babies and putting them in jail with serial killers.”

The House General Laws Committee will hold a Monday hearing on two bills from Representative Schroer. One involves the unlawful transfer of weapons, and the other involves endangering the welfare of a child.

Meantime, Governor Parson spoke to Missouri House members today about the special session on violent crime. The governor hosted conference calls with House members. Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones tells Missourinet that there have been several calls today.

There have been 167 homicides in St. Louis in 2020. The city had 194 murders in 2019. The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reports there have been 15 child homicides so far in 2020, which tops all of last year.

Across the state in Kansas City, there have been 124 homicides. There were 90, at this point in 2019 in Kansas City.

The governor expanded his special session call on Monday, to include a provision to allow the state attorney general’s office to take on some murder cases that haven’t been prosecuted yet by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner (D). The governor says this is about fighting violent crime.

Circuit Attorney Gardner and the bipartisan Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys oppose that plan.

A hearing on a Gardner-related bill has not been scheduled, at this time.

The Missouri Senate approved the crime bill earlier this month, by a bipartisan 27-3 vote. The full Missouri House is scheduled to return to Jefferson City on Monday August 24.

There was another development in Jefferson City on Friday, when State Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, requested that the governor expand the special session call to address absentee ballots for the November general election.

Representative Kendrick, the House Budget Committee’s ranking Democrat, wants the General Assembly to take legislative and appropriation action to ensure that every Missourian’s properly postmarked, but late delivered, absentee ballot for November will count.

Kendrick, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, and others will address Capitol reporters Monday in Jefferson City, about the issue.

Missouri Senate committee gets to work on violent crimefighting package

July 29, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

A Missouri Senate committee is reviewing a plan that aims to help reduce the state’s violent crime rate. Sen. Doug Libla, the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee chairman, is sponsoring the bill the Legislature is tasked with passing during the special session underway.

Missouri Senate

In Kansas City, at least 107 people have been murdered so far this year – a 35% increase over the same time last year. St. Louis has had at least 150 homicides so far in 2020, compared to 113 during the same period last year.

Gov. Mike Parson called the special session to have lawmakers pass a plan that includes creating a witness protection fund and removing a St. Louis police residency requirement to help recruit more officers.

During a committee hearing Tuesday, St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden says his department has a shortage of about 130 officers during a time when the city is averaging 10 homicides per week.

“No other police department in this region has a residency rule,” says Hayden. “Therefore, the department with the greatest demand for officers in this region has the greatest impediment to recruitment.”

Hayden says a study has found his department’s number one barrier to recruitment is the residency requirement.

“To meet the demands of the ongoing gun violence and continuing demonstrations, our officers have had to endure 12 hours days, cancellation of recreation days and countless, irretrievable hours away from their families. Needless to say, our officers are physically, emotionally and spiritually drained. We desperately need more officers and we need them now,” he says.

St. Louis Police Captain Charles Lowe says going to the area where he was shot in 2015 reopens a traumatic wound.

“Officers would not have the anxiety of coming back to those locations that caused them immediate anxiety,” says Lowe. “It would give them a time away where they can separate work and their family life, if you will.”

Social welfare organization Empower Missouri says removing the rule is a matter of local control and the state should stay out of the discussion. It is supportive of a witness protection program but says the component should be dealt with during a regular legislative session.

The plan would also require judges to consider whether youth should be tried as adults for crimes involving guns. St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards says since the Legislature’s 2017 passage of a bill allowing permitless gun carry, the number of juveniles carrying guns has climbed.

“A significant number of homicides have been committed by youngsters that are 18 and below,” says Edwards.

The American Civil Liberties Union says the legislation is another ramp for juveniles to be thrown into the criminal justice system and raises racial bias concerns.

The committee has not yet voted on Senate Bill 1. The full Senate returns next Wednesday.

Missouri Senate committee to hear crime legislation on Tuesday (AUDIO)

July 27, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s special legislative session on violent crime is underway at the Statehouse in Jefferson City. The Missouri Senate gaveled-in Monday at noon and listened to about an hour of floor speeches.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on July 27, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says a Senate committee will hold a hearing on the crime bill Tuesday afternoon at 12:45 in the Senate chamber.

“The Transportation (Infrastructure and) Public Safety Committee will be meeting and hearing the legislation at that time,” Schatz says.

The committee is chaired by State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff. With the hearing taking place in the Senate chamber, public seating for Tuesday’s hearing will be in the Capitol’s fourth-floor gallery.

Pro Tem Schatz says there’s agreement in the Legislature on the majority of Governor Mike Parson’s special session call on violent crime. Schatz says eliminating the residency requirement for St. Louis Police officers is the most controversial proposal. The Sullivan Republican tells Missourinet it’s still the right thing to do.

“We’re 150-plus law enforcement officers short in the city of St. Louis right now. Residency will help solve some of that problem,” says Schatz.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden testified in January that the residency requirement is the greatest challenge that his department has with recruitment and retention.

St. Louis has had at least 143 homicides in 2020. KMOV-TV reports that compares to about 110 at this time last year. Kansas City has now had 110 homicides in 2020, a 35 percent increase from last year.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, and Missouri’s Legislative Black Caucus are calling for legislation to utilize unused funds from the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) to support programs for gun violence survivors.

“Missouri has failed our survivors of gun violence by not properly utilizing available VOCA funds,” Leader Quade says, in a statement. “The governor’s special session to address violent crimes is the perfect avenue for us to help these survivors and provide money for efforts that stem gun violence before it starts.”

Quade and House Democrats are calling on Governor Parson to utilize $4 million of Missouri’s average annual VOCA funding, that would provide assistance to eligible community-based gun violence intervention groups. Quade says while the VOCA funds directly assist crime victims, they also work to mitigate violent gun crimes from happening in the future.

Governor Parson (R) told Capitol reporters on Monday that he’s narrowly focused on violent crime and does not intend to expand the special session call. He was not specifically asked about VOCA.

The governor says witness protection and juvenile certification are key parts of the call, along with eliminating the residency requirement for St. Louis Police officers.

Parson also says last week’s roundtable discussions with local leaders and law enforcement officers about violent crime were productive. The governor traveled to St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia. He also went to eastern Missouri’s Hannibal and Cape Girardeau.

“One of the reasons I went to Hannibal, Cape Girardeau is I really wanted to drive the point home that this violent crime is just not a Kansas City, St. Louis issue,” Parson says.

The governor says violent crime impacts all Missourians, adding that Hannibal recently had a homicide.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s two-minute interview with Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, which was recorded on July 27, 2020 at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City:

Missouri’s governor calls special session on violent crime

July 15, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Saying that Missouri has seen rapid increases in crime this year, Governor Mike Parson (R) has called a special session to begin on July 27th in Jefferson City.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson announces he will call a special session on violent crime, as St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden and other law enforcement officers listen (July 15, 2020 photo courtesy of the Governor’s Flickr page)

“As Governor and a former law enforcement officer for more than 22 years, protecting our citizens and upholding the laws of our state are of utmost importance to my administration,” Parson says.

The governor tells Capitol reporters that witness protection will be a key component of the special session call.

“Because one of the things that you have especially in violent crime, especially in some of the areas that we talk about, people don’t want to come forward and testify because they’re scared … they fear for their life,” Parson says.

There have been teen witnesses to St. Louis homicides in recent years who have been killed, before they could testify.

That includes the highly-publicized “St. Louis murder mom” conspiracy case, where a woman was sentenced to 12 years in prison for second degree murder.

A key proposal in the governor’s January State of the State Address was $1 million in funding for witness protection. Despite bipartisan support in both the Missouri Senate and House, the measure did not pass this year.

The governor says violent crime has escalated in recent weeks, specifically in St. Louis and Kansas City.

“Last night, four people were shot and killed in St. Louis, bringing the number of homicides so far this year to 130, compared to 99 at the same time last year,” says Parson.

Across the state in Kansas City, there have been 101 homicides this year. Governor Parson says that’s a 35 percent increase from 2019.

The governor also says aggravated assaults with a firearm are up 19 percent year-to-date in St. Louis County.

The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus chairman issued a statement on Wednesday, after the governor’s press conference. State Rep. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, says Governor Parson should call a special session on police reform.

“The communities he openly identified in his call today, namely Kansas City and St. Louis, have spent decades begging for institutional change in law enforcement. In an open letter to the governor last month, the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus requested that Governor Parson create a database to track officers who have been fired for misconduct, ban the training and use of chokeholds and other restraining techniques by police that can cause life-threatening injuries, and establish new guidelines for accountability by police departments when dealing with excessive use of force. It is disappointing that these requests are not being considered for a special session, especially as such requests have garnered state and national attention in an effort to prompt real and positive change,” Roberts says, in a statement.

Governor Parson says his biggest concern is violent crime and homicides.

Law enforcement from around Missouri joined the governor in the Capitol Rotunda for today’s briefing, including state Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Sandy Karsten and Missouri State Highway Patrol Colonel Eric Olson.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden, Kansas City Police Chief Richard Smith, Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams, Arnold Police Chief Robert “Bob” Shockey, Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler and Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism also attended.

While witness protection will be a key part of the special session call, so will eliminating the residency requirement for St. Louis police officers. Chief Hayden traveled to Jefferson City in January to testify for that provision, saying the residency requirement is the greatest challenge the department has with recruitment and retention.

“We have the greatest need for officers and the most demanding criminal environment in the state of Missouri, yet we have the greatest barrier to becoming an officer by discouraging applicants with the residency requirement,” Chief Hayden testified in January.

He noted that there were 194 murders, 2,600 shootings and 349 carjackings in St. Louis in 2019.

Another component of the special session call involves endangering the welfare of a child. The governor’s proposal modifies the offense of endangering the welfare of a child, for a person who encourages a child to engage in a weapons offense.

Parson: Removing St. Louis police residency requirement is the right thing to do

February 3, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

State Rep. Ron Hicks

State Representative Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, is proposing to let St. Louis police officers live outside the city limits. House Bill 1604 would let the officers reside within a one-hour response time.

The police department has about 150 to 200 police officer job openings and Police Chief John Hayden says the residency requirement is the greatest challenge the department has with recruitment and retention.

To top it all off, St. Louis has been named the most dangerous city in America for several years. Last year, the city had 194 murders, 2,600 shootings and 349 carjackings. Hicks has described St. Louis as the murder capital of the nation.

Gov. Mike Parson says he supports putting an end to the residency requirement.

“St. Louis has got a real problem,” he says. “The last thing we need to do is be hindering them from hiring police officers for that. I’m open to that. I think it’s the right thing to do – to make sure we get those full numbers of the police force up. They’re like 150, 200 officers down. The reality of it is whether you’re in St. Louis you’re in Polk County where I’m from just hiring deputies back in the day, the reality is if you can’t hire them within the county, you’ve got to reach outside there.”

Missouri Governor Mike Parson signs legislation on July 10, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Governor Parson’s office)

A House committee is considering Hicks’ bill. The legislation is a top priority for St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, a Democrat, Hayden, the St. Louis Police Officers Association, and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican with ties to the St. Louis suburb of Glendale.

Some members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and some residents want the requirement to stay intact – sparking Krewson and Hayden to ask Hicks for help in resolving the issue. The critics say having police officers who live in and know the neighborhoods they patrol is important. The one resident who testified against the bill at a House hearing said the matter should go to a citywide vote in St. Louis.

Sen. Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, has proposed Senate Bill 558, a similar measure.

Missouri Attorney General and St. Louis Police Chief backing officer residency bill (AUDIO)

January 20, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation that would allow St. Louis City police officers to live outside the city is expected to be voted on Tuesday evening in Jefferson City, by the Missouri House Judiciary Committee.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden testifies before the Missouri House Judiciary Committee in Jefferson City on January 14, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The bill is a top priority for St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson (D) and the city’s police chief, as well as for state Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R).

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden traveled to Jefferson City last week to testify for the bill, saying the residency requirement is the greatest challenge the department has with recruitment and retention.

Chief Hayden testifies the department is currently down 138 officers, emphasizing that’s both an officer safety issue and a public safety issue. He says having more officers will increase public safety.

St. Louis Police say there were 194 murders, 2,600 shootings and 349 carjackings in 2019.

Chief Hayden testified for House Bill 1604, which is sponsored by State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie.

Hicks describes St. Louis as the murder capitol of the nation. He testifies that the residency requirement is hurting officer recruitment, which impacts public safety.

“Right now, we are lacking I believe it’s close to 150 pairs of boots on the ground, in our law enforcement community in St. Louis City,” says Hicks.

There is opposition to the bill, from some members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and from some residents. Critics say it’s important to have police officers who live in and know the neighborhoods they patrol.

The one resident who testified against the bill at last week’s hearing said the issue should go to a citywide vote in St. Louis, adding that Representative Hicks’ home in Dardenne Prairie is two counties away.

Hicks tells Missourinet that the St. Louis Board of Aldermen opposed the bill and that Mayor Krewson and Chief Hayden came to him to request help. Hicks also says the title of his office is State Representative, not Dardenne Prairie.

As for Attorney General Schmitt, he says the residency requirement for St. Louis Police officers stifles recruiting efforts and has led to a downturn in the number of officers working in the city. Schmitt emphasizes that the bill doesn’t prevent officers from living in the city.

“This would just provide an opportunity for law enforcement officials who live in St. Louis County or Jefferson County or St. Charles County who are dedicated law enforcement officials who want to do police work in the (St. Louis) city to be able to do that,” Schmitt testifies.

Mayor Krewson and St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards also testified for the bill, which has the backing of Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan.

Hicks testifies he believes there is a “path to passage” in the Senate, and says Governor Mike Parson (R) told him that he would sign the legislation, if it reaches his desk.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, which was recorded on January 14, 2020 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City: