Latest news with #ArchCityDefenders
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Community activists sue over state takeover of St. Louis police
ST. LOUIS – A new lawsuit was filed Thursday trying to put a stop to the state takeover of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. 'What's happening at the state legislature is not about safety. It's about power. It's about control,' plaintiff Mike Milton said. Arch City Defenders has filed the lawsuit on behalf of two community activists, Milton and Jamala Rogers. 'Now that they've convinced the state legislature to completely take it over, I don't expect anything but lack of progress,' Rogers said. The lawsuit argues the state takeover bill, House Bill 495 is unconstitutional because it imposes an unfunded mandate on the city and parts of the bill only apply to a single political subdivision; The City of St. Louis. Musk says Trump is named in Epstein files HB 495, signed into law earlier this year, creates a board to oversee the police department. The majority of the board members will be appointed by the governor. The bill received support from the St. Louis Police Officers Association and the Ethical Society of Police. But voters approved local control of the police department back in 2012. 'We have a state legislature that says, 'we don't care what you want. We don't care what you deserve. In fact, we don't even care what the law has said,' Rogers said. It is the second lawsuit now filed regarding HB 495. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sent FOX 2 a statement saying, 'Instead of filing frivolous lawsuits, this group should focus their efforts on making St. Louis safer, instead of undermining the will of the people's elected representatives who are working to protect it. As Attorney General, I am committed to protecting the people of St. Louis and supporting the men and women of the SLMPD who put their lives on the line every day.' The other lawsuit against the bill was re-filed last month by the city's board of aldermen president Megan Green. The state has not yet filed an official response in court. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Civil rights law firm sues to block Missouri from taking over St. Louis police
A St. Louis Metro Police car outside Carnahan Courthouse in downtown St. Louis (Clara Bates/Missouri Independent). A St. Louis civil rights law firm filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the state takeover of the St. Louis police as unconstitutional. ArchCity Defenders filed the lawsuit in Cole County circuit court on behalf of two St. Louis city residents, Jamala Rogers and Mike Milton. The state and Attorney General Andrew Bailey are the defendants. The lawsuit seeks to overturn provisions of a bill Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law in March, which put the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department under a state board instead of local control. The law, reversing a statewide vote from 2012 that put the board under local control, was needed, supporters said, to address high crime rates. With Kehoe's signature, St. Louis joined Kansas City as the only major metropolitan police force in the country under control of a state board rather than local officials. The plaintiffs argue the law violates two parts of the state constitution: the prohibition on unfunded state mandates and on special laws targeting a particular locality. The law will 'subject the city to an unfunded mandate that diverts resources away from needed programs to prevent crime, overturns the democratic vote of the people with no rational basis to believe it will help increase public safety,' the lawsuit states, 'and will derail any progress that has been made in reducing the level of violence and improving law enforcement community relations.' The bill established a floor for the police budget in St. Louis, setting a minimum portion of general revenue funds that must be used for police each year, rising to 25% in 2028. Previously, there was no minimum funding requirement for the St. Louis city police, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit argues the city will need to either reallocate money from other programs and services or raise taxes. The two St. Louis city residents named as plaintiffs are activists who have advocated for policies to reduce poverty, prevent violence and increase community trust in law enforcement, according to the lawsuit. Those plaintiffs believe that the 'policies they are advocating for and the programs they implement will increase public safety,' the lawsuit states, but that 'funding and support for those policies are now in jeopardy because of the state takeover law.' The city charter also requires pay parity between police officers and firefighters and emergency medical personnel, meaning that if the state board increases police officers' salaries, the city will be under the increased strain of matching those salaries. 'There will be even less funds available for the city to implement holistic, poverty-reducing programs that have a proven effect on increasing public safety in the region,' the lawsuit states. Under the state's Hancock Amendment, the state is forbidden from imposing unfunded mandates on local governments. The second component of the lawsuit argues the law is unconstitutional because it violates the prohibition against the legislature enacting certain local or special laws. It argues the law regulates the affairs of St. Louis when a general state law could be made applicable to it. 'The state has no rational basis for imposing minimum police department funding requirements only on the city of St. Louis and excluding other municipalities from those requirements,' the lawsuit states. The plaintiffs ask the court to declare the state takeover provisions invalid under the constitution, and sever them from the rest of the wide-ranging crime bill in which they were passed. The bill restored the governing system that controlled the police department from 1861 until the 2012 vote. The bill was passed despite the 2012 vote, and 'despite the City's robust funding of the police department at the expense of other needs, and despite the falling crime rate in the city of St. Louis,' the lawsuit states. The plaintiffs argue that the city has struggled to fund services like affordable housing and violence prevention services, which could reduce crime, while providing 'steady funding' for the police department. The Board of Police Commissioners has six members — the mayor of St. Louis and five people appointed by the governor and subject to state Senate confirmation. The bill passed on party-line votes in the House and Senate earlier this year, with Democrats opposed. State takeover of St. Louis police clears legislature, heads to Missouri governor Opponents argued it was racist because Black Democrats held the major offices in St. Louis at the time of passage and is unneeded because crime is decreasing. Senate Democrats filibustered the bill, winning additions of provisions banning the shackling of pregnant prisoners, establishing a fund for exonerated prisoners to receive restitution from the state and limiting what jails and prisons can charge inmates for phone calls. Critics point to statistics showing a drop in violent crime in St. Louis under local leadership. They say Kansas City has fared no better despite being under state control since the 1930s. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
St. Louis agrees to pay $4M to settle lawsuit alleging inhumane conditions at now-closed jail
St. Louis has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that inmates at a former medium-security jail were housed in 'inhumane conditions' that included rodent feces in food, infestations of bugs and snakes, and unbearable overcrowding. The nonprofit ArchCity Defenders announced the settlement on Tuesday as it filed a motion in federal court seeking authorization to begin notifying people who were incarcerated at the St. Louis Medium Security Institution that they could be eligible for damages. Demolition of the troubled jail, known as the Workhouse, began earlier this year. Around 16,000 people jailed there for five or more days from November 2012 through June 2022, when it closed, may be eligible to file a claim if the settlement is approved. FILE - Protesters begin pushing in one of the exterior fences outside the St. Louis medium security jail, known as the Workhouse, on July 21, 2017, as people gather to call attention to what they say are inhumane conditions at the facility. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File) The agreement, signed April 10, said that the city denied any wrongdoing or liability. Mayor Cara Spencer, who was sworn into office five days after the agreement was reached, declined to elaborate during a news conference Tuesday. 'I can't really speak to those decisions before I was sworn into office,' she said. All seven of the original plaintiffs who sued in 2017 are Black, as were the vast majority of inmates at the jail, although just over half of St. Louis' residents are Black. Virtually all of the people jailed there were awaiting trial because they couldn't afford bail, mostly for non-violent crimes. 'It was a horrible place,' said one of the plaintiffs, Jasmine Borden, in a written statement. 'They treat dogs at the shelter better than they treated us. It's nice to be compensated with the settlement, but I can't get back any of the time that I was dealing with being locked up and being away from my kids in that unsuitable environment.' Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up Another of the plaintiffs, James Cody, also said dogs were treated better during a news conference when the lawsuit was first filed. Cody, who was jailed for eight months on a probation violation, said he often found mouse feces in cake served at the jail. Jail staff would simply scrape them off, he said. Cody said he was housed in a dorm with 69 other men, all sharing a single working toilet, sink and shower. He recalled the heat of summer, when temperatures inside the jail reached 125 degrees Fahrenheit (51.67 degrees Celsius), according to the lawsuit. The hot conditions led to protests that resulted in city officials temporarily bringing in portable air conditioners. 'This jail came to be such an infamous symbol of injustice and inhumane treatment in St. Louis, a symbol of racism, a symbol of the way in which we target poor people in our criminal legal system,' said Blake Strode, ArchCity Defenders' executive director, in a phone interview. 'So many generations were harmed by it. And so, I think the fact that we are here in 2025 with the jail empty, partially demolished, fully defunded, and now you have thousands of people who are actually going to receive some recovery for the horrific conditions that they endured in the jail. I think that's a huge accomplishment.'
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
St. Louis agrees to pay $4M to settle lawsuit alleging inhumane conditions at now-closed jail
St. Louis has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that inmates at a former medium-security jail were housed in 'inhumane conditions' that included rodent feces in food, infestations of bugs and snakes, and unbearable overcrowding. The nonprofit ArchCity Defenders announced the settlement on Tuesday as it filed a motion in federal court seeking authorization to begin notifying people who were incarcerated at the St. Louis Medium Security Institution that they could be eligible for damages. Demolition of the troubled jail, known as the Workhouse, began earlier this year. Around 16,000 people jailed there for five or more days from November 2012 through June 2022, when it closed, may be eligible to file a claim if the settlement is approved. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement The agreement, signed April 10, said that the city denied any wrongdoing or liability. Mayor Cara Spencer, who was sworn into office five days after the agreement was reached, declined to elaborate during a news conference Tuesday. 'I can't really speak to those decisions before I was sworn into office,' she said. All seven of the original plaintiffs who sued in 2017 are Black, as were the vast majority of inmates at the jail, although just over half of St. Louis' residents are Black. Virtually all of the people jailed there were awaiting trial because they couldn't afford bail, mostly for non-violent crimes. 'It was a horrible place,' said one of the plaintiffs, Jasmine Borden, in a written statement. "They treat dogs at the shelter better than they treated us. It's nice to be compensated with the settlement, but I can't get back any of the time that I was dealing with being locked up and being away from my kids in that unsuitable environment.' ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Another of the plaintiffs, James Cody, also said dogs were treated better during a news conference when the lawsuit was first filed. Cody, who was jailed for eight months on a probation violation, said he often found mouse feces in cake served at the jail. Jail staff would simply scrape them off, he said. Cody said he was housed in a dorm with 69 other men, all sharing a single working toilet, sink and shower. He recalled the heat of summer, when temperatures inside the jail reached 125 degrees Fahrenheit (51.67 degrees Celsius), according to the lawsuit. The hot conditions led to protests that resulted in city officials temporarily bringing in portable air conditioners. 'This jail came to be such an infamous symbol of injustice and inhumane treatment in St. Louis, a symbol of racism, a symbol of the way in which we target poor people in our criminal legal system,' said Blake Strode, ArchCity Defenders' executive director, in a phone interview. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'So many generations were harmed by it. And so, I think the fact that we are here in 2025 with the jail empty, partially demolished, fully defunded, and now you have thousands of people who are actually going to receive some recovery for the horrific conditions that they endured in the jail. I think that's a huge accomplishment.' Heather Hollingsworth (), The Associated Press
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
St. Louis agrees to pay $4M to settle lawsuit alleging inhumane conditions at now-closed jail
FILE - Protesters begin pushing in one of the exterior fences outside the St. Louis medium security jail, known as the Workhouse, on July 21, 2017, as people gather to call attention to what they say are inhumane conditions at the facility. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File) St. Louis has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that inmates at a former medium-security jail were housed in 'inhumane conditions' that included rodent feces in food, infestations of bugs and snakes, and unbearable overcrowding. The nonprofit ArchCity Defenders announced the settlement on Tuesday as it filed a motion in federal court seeking authorization to begin notifying people who were incarcerated at the St. Louis Medium Security Institution that they could be eligible for damages. Demolition of the troubled jail, known as the Workhouse, began earlier this year. Around 16,000 people jailed there for five or more days from November 2012 through June 2022, when it closed, may be eligible to file a claim if the settlement is approved. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement The agreement, signed April 10, said that the city denied any wrongdoing or liability. Mayor Cara Spencer, who was sworn into office five days after the agreement was reached, declined to elaborate during a news conference Tuesday. 'I can't really speak to those decisions before I was sworn into office,' she said. All seven of the original plaintiffs who sued in 2017 are Black, as were the vast majority of inmates at the jail, although just over half of St. Louis' residents are Black. Virtually all of the people jailed there were awaiting trial because they couldn't afford bail, mostly for non-violent crimes. 'It was a horrible place,' said one of the plaintiffs, Jasmine Borden, in a written statement. "They treat dogs at the shelter better than they treated us. It's nice to be compensated with the settlement, but I can't get back any of the time that I was dealing with being locked up and being away from my kids in that unsuitable environment.' ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Another of the plaintiffs, James Cody, also said dogs were treated better during a news conference when the lawsuit was first filed. Cody, who was jailed for eight months on a probation violation, said he often found mouse feces in cake served at the jail. Jail staff would simply scrape them off, he said. Cody said he was housed in a dorm with 69 other men, all sharing a single working toilet, sink and shower. He recalled the heat of summer, when temperatures inside the jail reached 125 degrees Fahrenheit (51.67 degrees Celsius), according to the lawsuit. The hot conditions led to protests that resulted in city officials temporarily bringing in portable air conditioners. 'This jail came to be such an infamous symbol of injustice and inhumane treatment in St. Louis, a symbol of racism, a symbol of the way in which we target poor people in our criminal legal system,' said Blake Strode, ArchCity Defenders' executive director, in a phone interview. 'So many generations were harmed by it. And so, I think the fact that we are here in 2025 with the jail empty, partially demolished, fully defunded, and now you have thousands of people who are actually going to receive some recovery for the horrific conditions that they endured in the jail. I think that's a huge accomplishment.'
