The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is undergoing a major transition after lawmakers and Gov. Mike Kehoe reinstated a gubernatorial board to oversee the agency.
But the changes for the police department go beyond the reimposition of the state board.
Attorney General Andrew Bailey's office will now be in charge of defending the St. Louis Police Department in certain civil litigation cases. That's because Bailey's office is in charge of defending state agencies against claims to the state's legal defense fund.
"The legal expense fund is really the insurance policy for the state," Bailey said in an interview on Wednesday. "So any claims enumerated in that statute that are in connection with the public officials duties are covered by [the fund] … the state's law firm, the Missouri attorney general's office, defends against them."
This isn't a completely foreign experience for Bailey. As attorney general, he represents the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Bailey said the cases that his office handles usually fall into two categories. The first involves claims that police officers violated somebody's civil rights, such as conducting an illegal search and seizure or failing to provide a Miranda warning. The other typically involves employment law claims within the department. Bailey said the attorney general does not represent police officers who are accused of criminal wrongdoing.
"About 65% of the work my office does on the civil defense side as a whole is defense under the Missouri Human Rights Act," said Bailey, referring to a state law that lays the parameters for employment discrimination claims. "And certainly that includes our current two law enforcement clients, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Kansas City Police Department. And we anticipate that'll be true in St Louis Metropolitan Police Department."
Both the St. Louis and Kansas City police boards can hire outside counsel.
He also said that the attorney general can advise the police board on open records requests, though he added that the police department will still maintain a custodian of records to make final decisions on whether something remains closed or is released to the public.
"But again, we stand ready to assist them and ensure that all of our clients are fulfilling their legal obligations," Bailey said.
Can the police board fulfill its purpose?
Many St. Louis officials opposed the legislation placing the state board in charge of its police department, contending that it makes the agency less accountable to local elected officials. They also point to how Kansas City's crime rate remains high, even with a state board in place.
But Bailey echoed Kehoe's contentions that having a board, instead of the mayor, oversee the St. Louis police department will remove some political pressures.
"We want our police officers to know they have predictable, consistent, competent, civil representation from the state," Bailey said.
While Kehoe's picks to the police board haven't been universally praised, Bailey said that the GOP governor's selections all have a stake in having St. Louis thrive.
"Their livelihoods and their families depend on the success of the city," Bailey said. "This isn't some prestigious appointment to a board that will provide them accolades. It requires them to put in elbow grease and work. And I think they want to do that. "
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