After months of “crying for help,” members of the St. Louis’ jail oversight board see relief in an aldermanic proposal to give the board more power.
Board Bill 93, introduced today by Ward 14 Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, would allow the nine-member board to investigate complaints about the city jail faster and give them permission to hire an independent attorney.
The measure comes after tensions between the board and both Corrections Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah as well as Mayor Tishaura Jones reached a fever pitch earlier this summer.
Members of the Detention Facility Oversight Board have long complained they’ve been blocked from doing their jobs and investigating complaints at the city’s jail. Then two detainees died in the jail within two weeks in August. Board member Mike Milton previously told the RFT that at least one detainee might still be alive had the board been allowed to perform as intended.
The bill being considered by the Board of Aldermen won’t solve everything, Milton says, “but I definitely think it restores the power and integrity of this board.”
“This bill will help, but it’s not the end all be all,” Milton says.
Members of the board say the bill will remove roadblocks to their investigations, particularly when it comes to city-mandated training. Members have argued that the current ordinance doesn’t require training in order for the board to investigate complaints, but the city made it mandatory, says member Rev. Darryl Gray. The city required the board to complete a long training process, tallying 40 hours in total, on topics that at times seemed unrelated to the work of addressing complaints.
“The content has been vague at times, and not really conducive to the work we do,” Gray says. “And the trainer determines the content.”
Aldridge’s bill would instead allow the Division of Civilian Oversight to establish a training program relevant to the board’s duties, and stipulates such training “shall not prevent the fulfillment of duties of DFOB members” unless they fail to complete it within a year.
If the bill passes, the board and the city’s commissioner of civilian oversight would be tasked with establishing an orientation program for new members that would take 10 hours at most. Current members would be required to complete a continued training program on facility operations and citizen and detainee rights, among other topics, in one year.
But what board members point to as the largest step forward is a section of the bill that would allow the board to retain independent legal counsel, instead of the city providing legal representation through City Counselor Sheena Hamilton’s office.
Milton says he sees a conflict of interest happening “in real time” as the city obstructs the board from receiving information. “Having an independent attorney is a no brainer,” he says.
Under Aldridge’s bill, the board would have to choose its attorney from a list of candidates provided by the city counselor.
“Our fear in that regard is that the city attorney’s office will recommend to the board attorneys that are more amenable to the circuit attorney’s point of view than the board’s point of view,” Gray says.
Aldridge says having Hamilton produce a list was a compromise.
“I think giving the city counselor the ability to pick is a smart way to pick firms that could be city-friendly but still be objective,” Aldridge says.
Aldridge says the bill may change form as it moves through the legislative process. It was first read today and referred to the Public Safety Committee.
“We’re up against a very powerful system,” Milton says. “I think this is just the beginning.”
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