The state of Missouri controlled the St. Louis Police Department for more than 150 years – until the state’s voters returned control to the city in 2013. A Missouri House committee is deciding whether to advance a bill that would return control to the state.
Rep. Brad Christ, R-St. Louis, is sponsoring the bill that would shift local control of the police department to a state-appointed board.
“No one’s being fooled by these PR campaigns that crime is down,” Christ said during a committee hearing. “Multiple crimes are counted as one. They bulk them together like you’re buying toilet paper at Costco. They have justifiable homicides. Some crimes aren’t even reported.”…