ST. LOUIS (KTVI) – Chaos erupted at St. Louis Hall Wednesday night at a citizens’ hearing to talk about a proposal to form a civilian overview board for the city police department. When words got heated the shoving and pushing and yelling began.
During most of the evening opponents of the police had the chance to have their say and in some cases were applauded.
When police officers spoke out against the oversight board proposal they were heckled.
Police association leader Jeff Roorda blasted committee chairman Alderman Terry Kennedy for allowing the meeting to get out of control. Roorda said, “We’re supposed to rely on aldermen like Terry Kennedy to provide a fair civilian review board for our members when we just saw a sham of a process in his very own hearing.
Alderman Terry Kennedy responded, “I’ve had several people come up to me to thank me for maintaining decorum in this meeting by showing respect to individuals who came forward. It’s unfortunate that the city has these kind of division we have but we have to begin work on it”.
After the crowd calmed down they tried to continue the meeting but then ended it for the evening.
