In simultaneous police chief searches, 51붚죕 leaders clash, 51붚죕 County slow to start

ST. LOUIS �� A search for a new chief to lead the area�셲 largest law enforcement agency has quickly become a political standoff. And months after the top cop of the second-largest department abruptly resigned, the hunt to find her replacement hasn�셳 even started.

51붚죕 police Chief John Hayden announced in early September he would retire Feb. 23 after four years as chief.

Since then, the search for a new chief has fueled conflict between two divisions of city government involved in selecting a replacement: Mayor Tishaura O. Jones�� administration and the city�셲 personnel department, a uniquely independent bureau not directly answerable to the mayor�셲 office.

The two have clashed over the job�셲 qualifications, a list of rejections as well as the current finalists for the job, multiple Jones administration and police officials have told the Post-Dispatch.

Meanwhile, in 51붚죕 County, there is still no active search for a new chief more than four months after Chief Mary Barton abruptly retired July 30, after accepting a $290,000 settlement to resolve a gender discrimination complaint.

Her former deputy chief, Lt. Col. Kenneth Gregory, is serving as interim chief.

Brian Ashworth, chair of the civilian board that will select the new chief �� the 51붚죕 County Board of Police Commissioners, told the Post-Dispatch in an email that the board�셲 confidence in Gregory is one reason why this search is taking longer to begin than the entire search for each of the previous five chiefs.

�쏛cting Chief Gregory�셲 leadership over the last five months and our confidence in him has allowed the board the time to be thoughtful of the type of leader needed and the process to deliver the chief who will shape the future of policing for our community,�� he wrote.

The stakes of the selection are high for both the county and city, where past chief searches have sparked lawsuits, controversies and changes in approaches to police work, while crime continues to be a concern.

City power struggle

When Hayden announced his retirement, Jones promised a national search.

The city put out a request for proposals for a recruiting firm that would find potential candidates, but no firm has been hired.

Former city personnel director Rick Frank, who retired Dec. 1, told the Post-Dispatch in September that he had decided the finalists would be chosen by his department alone. That�셲 a departure from 2017 when Hayden was selected.

For that search, Mayor Lyda Krewson�셲 administration hired the International Association of Chiefs of Police as a consultant to seek external candidates and choose the finalists.

�쏷hat contract cost the city about $55,000 last time, so I think this is the more cost-effective approach,�� Frank said in September.

This time, the personnel department has responsibility for drafting the job qualifications and selecting six finalists. The public safety director, a member of Jones�� cabinet, is then supposed to pick from those six. Former 51붚죕 police Chief Daniel Isom holds that role.

Before Frank retired, the personnel department drew up the qualifications for the next chief and selected six finalists, Jones administration sources say.

The personnel department required candidates to have at least 10 years experience at the rank of captain or higher, as well as a bachelor�셲 degree or equivalent professional experience.

Personnel department staff were to rank the candidates on �쐃xperience and training�� based on applications and resumes. The top candidates were then to take a written management simulation test.

The personnel department in late November sent rejection letters to most of about 30 applicants and gave a written test to two internal candidates: Assistant Chief Lt. Col. Lawrence O�셏oole and Commander of Community policing Lt. Col. Michael Sack, according to police and city sources.

The personnel department has kept at least four out-of-state candidates in the pool, but has not tested any external candidates, citing concerns over virtual tests, Jones administration sources say.

Both internal candidates are white men, while Jones at a news conference announcing Hayden�셲 retirement emphasized she considers diversity �쐃xtremely important�� in the search.

�쏻e�셪l be again looking for the most qualified person for the job, but also paying attention to diversity as well,�� Jones told reporters on the steps to City Hall in September. �쏻e�셶e never had a woman police chief. We�셶e never had a woman of color or a Black woman.��

Internal candidates

O�셏oole, assistant chief since 2015, sued the city after he was passed over for chief when Hayden was chosen in 2017. The lawsuit, still pending, claims discrimination because O�셏oole is white.

O�셏oole, a 37-year veteran of the department, served as acting chief for more than seven months in 2017. While chief, he came under scrutiny for accusations of police brutality in the mass arrest of protesters and members of the media, including Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk and undercover 51붚죕 detective Luther Hall, in September 2017. The arrests were made during protests over an acquittal in the murder trial of former 51붚죕 police Officer Jason Stockley and have led to convictions against former officers and multiple lawsuits.

Sack is commander of the Bureau of Professional Standards and has been with the department for 27 years. Beyond his police career, he was a first lieutenant in the Army Reserves and received two masters in divinity at the Catholic Kenrick Seminary, among other degrees.

Sack�셲 name was most recently in the news in 2019 when prosecutors at 51붚죕 Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner�셲 office claimed Sack asked them to create a list of officers banned from bringing cases to her office. Controversy over the list escalated conflicts between city police and prosecutors. Hayden, at the time, denied claims that Sack had any role in creation of the list.

The Jones administration is searching for ways to compel the personnel department to reopen applications for chief, administration officials said.

Jones�� public safety director, Isom, said in a statement this week that �쐃very applicant�� should be tested using virtual testing options.

�쏷o strengthen its selection process, the department of personnel should have an inclusive process for both internal and external candidates,�� the statement reads. �쏡oing so will make this process fairer and more competitive while helping the city pick the best candidate for the job.��

Leaders of the city personnel department did not reply to multiple requests for comment.

51붚죕 police Sgt. Donnell Walters, president of the Ethical Society of Police, which represents many Black and minority officers in the department, said his organization opposes the requirement that chief candidates have at least 10 years as a captain.

That requirement has excluded �쐃xtremely qualified Black candidates�� who are part of command staff, Walters said.

�쒿hey can do the job, but they�셱e not even being looked at, and that�셲 wrong,�� Walters said.

When the city�셲 police department was under state control, before 2013, anyone with the rank of captain and above could apply, creating a much larger pool of internal candidates.

Jeff Roorda, business manager for the 51붚죕 Police Officers�� Association, said his organization is most concerned with the Jones administration�셲 attempts to take power from the personnel department in the chief search and other city duties.

�쏷he process has been a disaster. The mayor is interfering with and politicizing not just the police chief�셲 process, but the entire civil service process,�� Roorda said. �쏷he personnel director should not be a patronage job.��

The city�셲 civilian panel that governs the actions of the personnel department as well as the city�셲 merit system, the 51붚죕 Civil Service Commission, this month named longtime department employee Sylvia Donaldson as interim personnel director after Frank�셲 retirement.

The Civil Service Commission is set to meet in the coming week and, according to Jones administration officials, plans to vote on whether to compel the personnel department to reopen applications for chief.

Slowgoing in county

51붚죕 County police commissioners have taken nearly 18 weeks to announce qualifications for Barton�셲 replacement and parameters of the search.

In contrast, searches for the last four county chiefs took an average of about nine weeks.

Barton abruptly resigned after a rocky tenure, rather than announcing a retirement date weeks ahead of time like the four county chiefs before her.

Barton, the department�셲 first female chief, accepted a $290,000 settlement to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint she filed alleging she was the victim of discrimination from county leaders.

Barton�셲 tenure started in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic and was marked by controversies over racial divisions in the county ranks, including telling the County Council that claims of systemic racism in the department were �쐎verly broad and probably not accurate.�� She acknowledged to the Post-Dispatch months later that there was a �쐒acial issue.��

Several other scandals, such as accusations of retaliation against critics and racial slurs used by several police contractors and employees, including Barton�셲 brother-in-law who was a dispatcher, culminated in April in a largely symbolic 4-3 vote of no confidence by the County Council in her leadership.

Barton�셲 selection as chief also set off a bombshell lawsuit that police board members would like to avoid repeating.

Lt. Col. Troy Doyle, who was passed over for the job, filed suit against the county in February alleging that County Executive Sam Page set him up to become chief, only to cave to corporate donors who didn�셳 want Doyle because he is Black.

In the 2020 search for chief, the one at the center of Doyle�셲 suit, the county police board took internal applications from the two highest ranks under the chief: lieutenant colonels and captains.

Today in the department, there are and four lieutenant colonels: g, , and , according to the department�셲 command roster.

The next chief would be the department�셲 10th. The first four were recruited from outside the department, but the most recent five, Ron Battelle, Jerry Lee, Tim Fitch, Jon Belmar and Barton, were promoted from within.

One of those former chiefs, Fitch, served as chief from June 2009 through January 2014. He is currently a Republican 51붚죕 County Council member representing the 3rd District.

�쏯ever have I seen the process take so long,�� Fitch said of the current chief search.

With the last police chief selection resulting in political turmoil for the county executive, Fitch said he thinks delays might be prompted by the 2022 election. Fitch is a regular political opponent of Page, the current executive.

Page does not select the chief, but he has appointed, with council approval, all four of the current civilian police board members tasked with choosing the next chief.

�쏷he last thing Page needs is another messy chief selection while he�셲 running for election,�� Fitch said.

Page�셲 spokesman Doug Moore said Fitch is a �쐁onsistent and reliable political opponent. �� I hope he can keep politics out of the police department,�� Moore said.

Fitch also suggested the police board might see the delay as a trial run for Gregory, 69, the first Black man to lead the department and a 41-year veteran of the agency.

�쏫eeping a chief interim has been a common tactic to try out a chief,�� Fitch said, �쐀ut if they like Gregory and he�셲 doing what they want, they need to just make him the chief.��

Gregory told the Post-Dispatch in August that he hadn�셳 decided whether to pursue the job long-term.

�쏧 don�셳 know if this is a test run for me or not,�� Gregory said at the time. �쏽ou know, I�셶e been here for quite some time and don�셳 know where this will lead. It�셲 definitely been a thought on my mind.��

Joe Patterson, executive director of the 51붚죕 County Police Association, said this week that despite the delay in starting the chief search, the organization �쐄ully respects our civilian review board,�� but supports an internal hire.

�쏻e trust the commissioners will develop a comprehensive plan to select a police chief,�� Patterson said. �쏻e do however believe that individual, whoever he or she may be, should be chosen from within the current ranks of the 51붚죕 County Police Department.��

The city and county, should they consider external candidates, could find steep competition, including . Among the 79 departments belonging to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, 45 chiefs have left since 2020, said the organization�셲 executive director Laura Cooper.

�쏷here used to be a much longer shelf life for chiefs,�� Fitch said. �쏝efore I was chief it was 10 years. Then it was five. Now it�셲 closer to three or four. The chief takes it on the chin whenever there�셲 controversy. It�셲 a difficult job and new mayors want to appoint their own, so they don�셳 last long.��