ST. LOUIS • Minority officers sounded off for more than two hours Wednesday before the police department’s highest-ranking black commanders about issues they believe illustrate racism within the ranks and the need for reform. But those commanders blamed some of the issues on unmotivated officers.
Members of the Ethical Society of Police packed the organization’s office for the special meeting convened to call black commanders to action in the wake of a racist letter sent to a black police officer, presumably by another officer in South Patrol.
The group’s president, Sgt. Darren Wilson, said last week that the racist note was symptomatic of a larger, citywide problem. About a third of the 1,325-member police force is African-American; the city it serves is almost equally divided between black and white residents.
“If you're treating a police department employee like this, how are we treating our citizens?” Wilson asked.
Wilson opened Wednesday’s meeting by saying black leaders must do more to increase the number of black commanders on the force by reforming the promotional process.
Wilson said he had told Chief Sam Dotson not to attend because Wilson wanted to have an open dialogue.
In an interview before the meeting, Dotson said he wanted to hear from the group but wanted to avoid quick, empty changes, preferring “meaningful action” instead.
Dotson’s deputy chief, Lt. Col. Alfred Adkins, attended along with Lt. Col. Reggie Harris and Major. Rochelle Jones, who are all black. They put the onus to strive toward equality back on the officers. Adkins talked about seeing how promotional processes work at other police agencies.
“People fight for promotions there,” Adkins said. “And I don't see that here. You cannot just sit on the sidelines and complain. You can't say the process is unfair if you're not involved in it.”
The leaders steered clear of talking specifics on the racist letter as well as a recent race discrimination lawsuit in which a white police sergeant was awarded $620,000, saying both issues were matters of ongoing investigations.
But several black officers expressed discomfort about working in the city’s south districts as opposed to the north, where more minority officers are in command. Wilson called it “sickening” that none of one officer’s white commanders from South Patrol attended funeral services for her child.
“If you know of any black commanders interested in going to South Patrol, let me know,” Adkins told the audience.
In June, 15 officers — all white — were promoted to sergeant based on eligibility lists that run a two-year cycle. Dotson, who is white, said he had no choice but to follow procedures and use lists assembled before he took over Jan. 1 from retiring Chief Dan Isom, who is black.
Others in the audience expressed frustration that their fellow black officers are not taking advantage of the opportunities they say are available to prepare for promotions. One sergeant talked about forming a study group but said minorities did not attend.
The topic of promotions took a heated turn when discussion turned to the race discrimination lawsuit.
In that case, Sgt. David Bonenberger sued after claiming to have been passed over for a promotion to a police academy position in favor of a less-qualified black female officer. Bonenberger also is president of the Police Officers’ Association, which has more than 1,000 members and is the official bargaining unit for the rank and file.
Wilson issued a letter last week to the 220 Ethical Society members, criticizing Bonenberger for turning what Wilson considers to be an honorable attempt by black police commanders to diversify the staff at the academy into a lawsuit.
“This judgment, awarded by an all-white jury, sets the department back decades,” Wilson wrote.
Wilson has also said he was outraged at a lack of response from the Police Officers’ Association about the racist letter received by the South Patrol officer.
Bonenberger said he personally met with the recipient of the letter, who he said asked him not to say anything publicly.
He also said he was shocked and disappointed by Wilson’s letter about the verdict in his case, saying it further polarized black and white officers.
The Ethical Society has been critical of the Officers’ Association in the past, saying it does not adequately represent minority interests. The organization’s 19-member executive board has one African-American. The Ethical Society has three white members among its 220.
The association’s business manager, Jeff Roorda, was unsure how many of its more than 1,000 members are black.
“We don't record race in our database because it doesn't matter to us,” Roorda wrote in response to a reporter’s question. “We stand up for all officers regardless of race, creed or color.”
There is at least one sign that relation between the groups may be improving: When the Officers’ Association was given two seats on a committee overseeing the department’s transition to city control from state supervision, Roorda said he proposed that one also be a member of the Ethical Society.
And Wednesday, Adkins pledged to arrange meetings with Ethical Society members and Dotson.
“But you need to decide as a group what you want to bring to the chief,” Adkins said.
Whatever the complaints, Wilson and Bonenberger agree that officers of all stripes watch each other’s backs on the street.
“I say that only because of instinct,” Wilson said. “When you get into those situations, we become like the Blue Man Group. When it comes to protecting each other, everyone seems colorblind.”
Bonenberger said he was personally overwhelmed by the response to his call for help after he was shot at while on patrol recently.
“Everyone in North Patrol knew it was me, but other districts didn't know it was me, nor would they care, because it’s a policeman getting shot at and he needs help now,” Bonenberger said. “It was an absolutely overwhelming feeling of relief to see every officer — black, white, Muslim, Christian, Hispanic, gay, straight, it didn't matter. Everyone was there.”
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