A majority of elected officials in St. Louis are backing a bill to form a civilian oversight board for the St. Louis police department.
The seven-member board would look into allegations of police misconduct and report findings to the St. Louis police chief and public safety director. Members would be nominated by the mayor and would have to be city residents. The position would be unpaid.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that St. Louis is one of the largest cities in the nation without an outside review of police. Both Kansas City and Columbia have civilian review boards.
The bill appears to be set for passage next month. But Jeff Roorda, a union official, says officers might quit or be more reluctant to take action on patrol if the board is created.
St. Louis has seen a spike in violent crime, and arrests have fallen 40 percent since the August police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson. A committee meeting Wednesday on the oversight board proposal was cut short as a tense discussion led to pushing and shoving.
