Wednesday is National Day Against Police Brutality. A local rally will be held at 4:00 p.m. at Poelker Park, across from City Hall at Tucker and Market. The “Tow Local Control BACK to St. Louis!” rally will be sponsored by the Coalition Against Police Crime & Repression. Participants are encouraged to wear all black.

Local control of the police department is an issue PubDef.net has covered for years.

In a 2006 interview with PubDef, Alderman Terry Kennedy said without local control the police department is similar to an “occupying force.”

In February, state and city officials came together to support a bill to return control of the police department to the city. The bill passed the committee, but never reached the floor of the House for a vote.

Earlier this year, even Mayor Francis Slay — who has for years opposed local control — came out in favor of the bill — although he has not done much of anything to move the issue forward since then.

The recent scandals in the St. Louis police department have fueled efforts to bring control of the department back to the people who pay the bills: the taxpayers of St. Louis City. Continue Reading

Another night, another senseless shooting in St. Louis. So far this year, more that 140 people have been killed — and hundreds more have been wounded. Few of these acts of violence are ever solved. Continue Reading

Following the scandal-ridden resignation of Joe Mokwa, the governor-appointed St. Louis Police Board has selected Colonel Daniel Isom as the new police chief.

Here is the official announcement from Police Board President Chris Goodson: Continue Reading

St. Louis, MO—Tickets are on sale for the 21st annual Budweiser Guns ‘N Hoses on Nov. 26, a Thanksgiving eve tradition where police officers and firefighters step into the boxing ring to raise money for the BackStoppers which assists families of public servants who die in the line of duty.
Championship matches begin at 7 p.m. at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The event is presented by the St. Louis Guns ‘N Hoses Boxing Association, a non-profit organization.

Budweiser “Guns ‘N Hoses” features three-round matches between teams of Missouri and Illinois police officers and firefighters. Boxers are paired by age, weight and ability. Police officers won last year bouts, 10 matches to 7, which raised more than $329,000 for the BackStoppers, bringing the total since 1987 to more than $2.3 million.

The 2,000-member BackStoppers cover St. Louis City, the Missouri counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln, Jefferson, Franklin, St. Francois, Perry, Pike, Ste. Genevieve, Warren and Washington. The group also covers the Illinois counties of Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair. In addition, Backstoppers cover members of Troop C of the Missouri Highway Patrol and District 11 of the Illinois State Police.

After a loss of life, the BackStoppers give the family money for emergency expenses and later arrange to pay family bills, mortgages, debts, college costs and other expenses. The BackStoppers will celebrate its 50th anniversary during 2009.

Budweiser Guns ‘N Hoses is sponsored by Grey Eagle Distributors, the St. Louis County wholesaler of Anheuser-Busch products.

Tickets are $30, $25 and $20 and are available by calling (314) 444-5832 in St. Louis City, (314) 713-6031 in St. Louis County or (618) 622-1507 in Illinois. Tickets are also available at the Scottrade Center Box Office and on-line at ticketmaster.com.