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Pauline’s passing
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St. Louis American See page A12
The
CAC Audited APRIL 15 – 21, 2021
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County Council declares no confidence in Barton Final decision on chief’s future lies with Police Board
By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American St. Louis County Council on Tuesday night declared no confidence in the county’s embattled police chief, Mary Barton, just a year after she was promoted to the position by the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners. Councilwoman Rita Heard Days brought the resolution to her fellow council members, that stated Barton has “fumbled her way through the St. Louis position of chief” and has not worked to build County bridges between the Black community and the Police Chief police department. Mary Barton Those who voted in favor of the resolution were Democratic councilwomen Days, Kelli Dunaway,
Shalonda Webb and Lisa Clancy. Those who voted against the resolution were Republican councilmen Tim Fitch, Mark Harder and Ernie Trakas. Days sent a memo about the resolution the same day the Ethical Society of Police, the Black police union in the region, held a press conference outside St. Louis County Police headquarters discussing their board’s unanimous vote of no confidence in Chief Mary Barton, who was chosen as the department’s next police chief in March 2020. During the public comment period Tuesday night, local criminal justice activist Rev. Darryl
n “Leadership in our society’s major police forces matter, possibly more now than any other point in our county’s history.” —Cassandra Butler
See BARTON, A7
Vol. 93 No. 3 COMPLIMENTARY
Fate of Medicaid expansion depends on MO Senate Increased program eligibility due to begin July 1
By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American The Missouri Senate holds the fate of the state’s Medicaid expansion funding in its hands, as House Republicans took a stance against the expansion by removing its funding from the upcoming fiscal year’s general budget, arguing that there’s no money for it. But that’s just not true, according to Amy Blouin — who founded the Missouri n “What the Budget Project in 2003 Legislature and serves as its presis doing is ident and CEO. She needlesssaid other states which have already expanded ly causing Medicaid under the confusion Affordable Care Act for people have provided data on who’ve been how it’s played out financially for their suffering far budgets. too long.” “And all of the states are seeing savings in —Richard their state general revevon Glahn, nue costs and increased Missouri Jobs tax revenues just with Justice because of the influx of policy director federal funds to the state to support the health care industry. Those two things…resulted in Medicaid expansion paying for itself. We fundamentally believe, and what the other cities are showing us is, that there really is not a state cost of Medicaid expansion,” she said. State senators will either choose to vote on Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s version See MEDICAID, A7
Photo by Bill Greenblatt / St. Louis American
Helping hand
A St. Louis firefighter/EMT treats one of the victims injured in a six-car chain reaction crash caused by a suspect who led police on a high-speed chase that ended at North Broadway and East Taylor in north St. Louis. Several victims were transported to area hospitals.
ESOP condemns Chief Mary Barton Call Black officer’s reassignment a retaliation
Retired St. Louis Police Sgt. Heather Taylor spoke Friday on behalf of Officer Hall, who was present but did not speak. Taylor said Hall is recognized as a community leader and has never had a complaint filed against her.
By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American Officer Shanette Hall is the first of three Black female police officers to introduce herself in a recent Vice video, during which Black female cops talk about the culture of policing. “A lot of us come in with the idea [that] we want to literally protect and serve – and being a Black female myself, I’m not naïve. I know that there’s a fragile relationship between African Americans and the police,” she said in the video. Hall is a St. Louis County police officer and board member of the St. Louis County chapter of the Ethical Society of Police (ESOP). In the video, she describes how her father was a police officer, and how she grew See ESOP, A6
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
BrightPath STEAM Academy gears up for a summer of science By Sophie Hurwitz Of the St. Louis American Camden Butler, who is nine and a half years old, remembers his time with BrightPath STEAM Academy — a virtual summer program for Black students who want to learn about science, technology, engineering, art, and math — extremely well. On the day of the academy in mid-July, Butler remembers, he was “allowed to get messy in the house.” By ‘getting messy,’ Butler meant conducting an experiment to learn about viral load dispersal and COVID19—which involved spraying water on a flour-covered balloon to simulate a sneeze and learn why staying six feet apart is so important. Butler also got the chance to meet medical professionals and ask them all his questions about the virus that changed his young life so drastically. “We got to meet an actual doctor!” he said. “And he was telling us about…working on the COVID-19 vaccine, See SCIENCE, A6