Jan 28

St. Louis City Hall Meeting Reportedly Interrupted By Brawl

Posted in: Today's Chili

A brawl broke out at a St. Louis City Hall meeting on the implementation of a civilian oversight board of the police department on Wednesday night, according to reports from the scene.

While it was not immediately clear who started the fight or for what reason, the meeting allegedly took a turn for the worse after an exchange between St. Louis Alderman Terry Kennedy and Jeff Roorda of the St. Louis Police Officers Association, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Nicholas Pistor reported. Photos from the scene showed Roorda wearing a bracelet that said, “I Am Darren Wilson,” the Ferguson police officer who shot the unarmed, black, 18-year-old Michael Brown.

People in the crowd started shouting, KSTL’s Staci Kramer said.

Some reports claimed that Roorda had been aggressive with other attendees.

Alderman Antonio French, the lead sponsor of the bill calling for civilian oversight of police, expressed dismay over the altercation. “We saw once again tonight how fractured our city remains. We have a lot of work to do. I believe a strong civilian review board can help,” French tweeted. “The behavior of union official Jeff Roorda tonight was deplorable, and disrespectful to the fine men and women he is supposed to represent,” he added.

Order was eventually restored and the meeting brought to a close. There were no immediate reports of injuries and arrests.

The meeting was one of several to discuss policing in the St. Louis area in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. The meeting on Wednesday night was considering a bill calling for the creation of a civilian oversight board of the police department. The measure would give an oversight board the authority to investigate allegations of police misconduct, and make recommendations on police policy based on assessments conducted by the group. The board’s seven members would be nominated by the mayor and approved by the Board of Aldermen. Previous efforts to create the St. Louis Civilian Oversight Board had been unsuccessful, the Post-Dispatch reported. It was not yet clear if the bill had been put to a vote before the meeting was adjourned.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to better reflect the bill being considered.

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