St. Louis police say they are finally cracking down on drug dealing at the open-air market in Downtown West, citing nine arrests since Friday. Police spokesman Mitch McCoy wouldn’t say specifically where the arrests happened—“because then we’re giving everybody an opportunity to go get drugs”—but did say that they came as a result of directed patrols in response to complaints. Many were the result of officers spotting hand-to-hand drug deals. Officers have applied for more than a dozen felony charges, including for drug dealing and others related to a stolen car and stolen copper.
Asked by a reporter why it took months for the police to take action on the open-air market, McCoy replied, “If you go fishing, would you rather get a goldfish or a big bass or salmon?” He wouldn’t say whether that big fish had been caught yet, but added the investigation into the drug market is still ongoing: “We’re not stopping. We have great information and intel that we’re working with right now to make a bigger splash.”
McCoy said that the recent busts were the result of a new patrol strategy implemented last Friday…