CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — The St. Louis County Council is threatening to block police collective bargaining agreements if the department and the police union won’t agree to greater public oversight. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the council’s resolution Tuesday came on the heels of an ultimatum from the Ethical Society of Police, an association that represents several Black officers, urging Chief Mary Barton to address racism in the department. Barton told the council earlier this year that systemic racism did not exist in the department, angering ESOP leaders. The vote on the resolution fell along party lines — the four Democrats supported it, the three Republicans opposed it.
The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.