MEDIA ALERT & INVITATION TO COVER
Ethical Society of Police to host a press conference today
to address systemic racism in the St. Louis County Police Department
WHAT:
The Ethical Society of Police St. Louis County Chapter will host a press conference at 4 p.m. today to address systemic racism in the St. Louis County Police Department. Speakers will address the following issues:
- ESOP’s St. Louis County Chapter has fought to be recognized as an official organization within the SLCPD since it was founded in 2018. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was presented to County Executive Dr. Sam Page on several occasions over 13 months, yet it is still not signed. If the MOU is signed, ESOP will be recognized as an official organization and can represent their 65 members during investigations and have regular meetings with the Chief of Police.
- ESOP was founded in 1972 to fight race-based discrimination within the police department as well as in the community. In June, Dr. Page asked ESOP leadership to remove the word “discrimination” from the MOU.
- This month, Chief Mary Barton wrongly advised ESOP leadership that there is not systemic racism in the Department when STLCPD actually lags behind many police departments nationwide with regard to diversity and inclusion, as noted in the findings of the 2015 U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) collaborative review of the Department. County police officers have dealt with racial discrimination at every level, including the police academy, diversity within specialized units, equitable representation with promotions, fair practices with the hiring process and the discipline of minorities. We have been calling for strongly mandatory cultural competency and implicit/explicit bias training for all ranks within the Department for some time.
We are asking Dr. Sam Page to sign our Memorandum of Understanding, acknowledge the fact that systemic racism exists in St. Louis and also develop a structured plan to address the systemic racism that exists not only in St. Louis County Government but also with residents in St. Louis County.
WHEN:
Monday, June 22
4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
WHO:
Speakers will include:
- Officer Shanette Hall: ESOP St. Louis County Chapter Board Member
- Sgt. Heather Taylor: ESOP President
- William Dailey: ESOP Attorney
WHERE:
St. Louis NAACP parking lot across from ESOP Headquarters
4811 Delmar Blvd
St. Louis, MO 63108
**Press conference will be moved inside ESOP Headquarters (4901 Delmar Blvd) in case of rain and masks will be required.
DETAILS:
Approximately 65 police officers are members of the St. Louis County Chapter of ESOP.
ABOUT THE ETHICAL SOCIETY OF POLICE
The Ethical Society of Police (E.S.O.P.) is an association of police officers, park rangers, and civilians that advocates for racial and gender equity in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) and St. Louis County Police Department. The E.S.O.P. was founded in 1972 to address racial biases within law enforcement. The E.S.O.P. also works to improve community/police relations, develop policies and programs to reduce crime, elevate the status of minority civilians and police officers, encourage greater minority employment by law enforcement agencies, and increase professionalism in law enforcement. Membership is open to all races and includes nearly 300 law enforcement professionals employed by the City and County of St. Louis. For details, call (314) 690-3565, email [email protected] or visit www.esopstl.org.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Rachel Brown
[email protected]
314.266.7035 (office)
314.210.4419 (mobile)