Politics

Missouri sheriffs will be able to help each other with less red tape

St. Louis Public Radio | By Marshall Griffin,

Marshall Griffin

Published July 11, 2016 at 6:39 PM CDT

A new law signed by Gov. Jay Nixon last week will make it easier for county law enforcement agencies in Missouri to assist one another in an emergency.

House Bill 1936 removes language in state law that only allowed a county sheriff's office to lend immediate assistance to a bordering county. Cole County Sheriff Greg White says the new law will reduce red tape.

"When a tornado went throughPettisCounty (in 2011), we were willing to go assist Sheriff (Kevin) Bond with helping them and giving their deputies a few hours off to deal with their family issues," White said. "But we had to have mutual aid agreements and blah-blah-blah … and we did do it, and it did work for (Sheriff Bond), but it wasn't as seamless as it could have been."

White said it will also make it easier for an outside law enforcement agency to render assistance in cases of officer-involved shootings.

"For the sake of transparency, I would like to have an outside agency come and work that … and in our case, Boone County is close and they're a big agency and I would trust them to do that," he said. "But if we had to go farther away, CapeGirardeauCounty, about the same size (as Cole County), could come and render assistance to us much, much faster (than before)."

House Bill 1936 also contains duplicate language found in another signed bill making police video recordings a closed record.

The new law takes effect Aug. 28.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport

Politics

Marshall Griffin

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.

See stories by Marshall Griffin

Marshall Griffin

St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.