最新杏吧原创

John J. Sinclair joined the 最新杏吧原创 Police Department in 1926. He became a lieutenant. He retired in 1956 and died in 1981. The obituary published in this newspaper mentioned that he had a special talent for apprehending safe-crackers. The obituary also stated, 鈥淧olice officers knew him as Peoria Red.鈥�

Sadly, there is not a colorful story behind that nickname. He was from Peoria, and he had red hair.

Also in the obituary was this quote from Chief of Detectives John Doherty: 鈥淗oodlums feared him.鈥�

Perhaps the last surviving officer who served under Sinclair is George Seper, a retired homicide sergeant. He is 95. He remembers the lieutenant for his kindness.

One of the young patrolmen with Seper was John Kehoe. He had a drinking problem. He eventually abandoned his family and quit the police department.

Peoria Red watched out for that family, Seper told me recently.

That鈥檚 far from clear. The youngest child in that family, Mike, wasn鈥檛 born until 1962, six years after Peoria Red retired. What is very clear is that Peoria Red鈥檚 son, Dave, had a strong relationship with Mike. Dave had been a young cop with Seper and Kehoe. After six years in the department, Dave quit and got into the auto business.

Mike Kehoe started working for Dave Sinclair Ford when he was 15. He rose through the ranks and eventually, with Dave鈥檚 help, had a dealership of his own. He is now the governor of Missouri.

I mention the governor鈥檚 sideways connection to the police department because he is trying to wrest control of the department from the city. He has the support of the Police Officers Association and the Ethical Society of Police.

What is the difference between state control and local control?

As far as citizens are concerned, not much. Cops are cops. Crime is crime.

But think of the police department as an army that needs civilian control. Who are those civilians?

Under state control, which lasted from the Civil War until 2013, civilian oversight was provided by the Board of Police Commissioners, a small group of citizens, mostly businessmen, who were appointed by the governor.

Under local control, the mayor is in charge.

The old system was not perfect. Sometimes it was almost comical. I remember when the police announced a zero tolerance policy on drinking and driving. One of the commissioners was Vince Bommarito, who owned Tony鈥檚, the fanciest restaurant in town. Most people who went there were celebrating something. They鈥檇 have cocktails before dinner, and wine during. Maybe an after-dinner drink. Hardly anybody left Tony鈥檚 with a blood alcohol level under .08.

I wrote a column suggesting the police set up a DWI checkpoint outside the restaurant.

Nevertheless, the businesspeople on the board knew what they wanted. For instance, they wanted a safe downtown. Period. The people who lived in high-crime neighborhoods were not their main constituents.

Also, there was a sense of stability. The commissioners were in charge. They made promotions. They hired a new chief to replace a retiring chief. They always hired from within.

When local control went into effect for the police department, everybody figured the mayor would pick the new chief. It turned out that the personnel director 鈥� a largely anonymous figure 鈥� got to make the choice. Somehow Mayor Tishaura O. Jones finessed things and the director retired and the mayor appointed her own person, Sonya Jenkins-Gray.

That was in 2022. Now the mayor is trying to fire Jenkins-Gray, who has established a GoFundMe account to fight the mayor鈥檚 efforts.

Chaos. It鈥檚 the 最新杏吧原创 Way.

Most cops get enough adrenaline in their day-to-day work. They don鈥檛 need the added rush that comes with city politics.

There is also ideology. Cops tend to be conservative. So do governors of Missouri. City politicians mostly bat from the other side.

So it鈥檚 easy to see why so many cops prefer state control. Bring back the commissioners, they say.

It might well happen. The governor has the Legislature on his side. The mayor could hope for a filibuster in the Senate, but that would probably involve State Sen. Steven Roberts. Will he rush to the mayor鈥檚 aid? In 2023, when there was talk that Roberts might be appointed circuit attorney, the mayor, speaking with her dad and Richard Callow, said, 鈥淎nd we mobilize to make sure his ass gets dragged.鈥�

Some 最新杏吧原创ans are opposed to state control on principle. That鈥檚 understandable. Skepticism, cynicism and downright distrust are warranted when dealing with Jefferson City, a place where bad ideas duke it out with worse ideas and the citizenry is saved only by gridlock. Outstate legislators don鈥檛 wish us well.

But no matter how distrustful we might be of the Missouri Legislature, it鈥檚 comforting, I think, to know that if we return to the old ways, the governor who will appoint the commissioners has a history with the 最新杏吧原创 Police Department that goes back to the days of Peoria Red.

I said there was no colorful story behind the nickname. That鈥檚 only partially true. According to James Sinclair, one of Dave鈥檚 sons and the unofficial historian of his family, John J. Sinclair鈥檚 hair was bright red until he was shot and then his hair turned white. According to his obituary, he was shot in the hand during a foot-pursuit in 1926.