Three Area Police Officers Suspended, Including Glendale’s Matthew Pappert (UPDATED)

The last week several local police officers were suspended from duty. First was St. Ann’s Lt. Ray Albers:

A St. Ann police lieutenant has been suspended after pointing a semi-automatic assault rifle at a protester in Ferguson late Tuesday night, police said. (stltoday)

On Friday August 23rd we heard about two more suspensions. Here’s one of the two, suspended due to statements made in a YouTube video:

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said officer Dan Page, a 35-year veteran of the department, has been suspended pending a review by the internal affairs unit. The video was brought to Belmar’s attention by CNN reporter Don Lemon, who had previously brought Page to the department’s attention after complaining Page shoved him. (stltoday)

I knew the name of the last one as the TV news anchor began introducing the story; ‘an officer from suburban Glendale Police in trouble for Facebook comments’ was roughly how the story was introduced. I immediately knew the name they’d say: Matthew Pappert.

A police officer just 15 miles away from the ongoing protests in Ferguson, Mo. allegedly said he thinks the protesters should have been “put down like rabid dogs.”

Officer Matthew Pappert is a police officer with the Glendale Police Department. He has been an officer since 2008. Pappert received the 2009 City of Glendale Community Service Award and the 2013 Kirkwood American Legion Post and Kirkwood Optimist Club Public Safety Award. (St. Louis Area Cop Thinks Protesters Should Be ‘Put Down Like Rabid Dogs’)

You can click the link above for screenshots of Pappert’s statements, which include: “Where is a Muslim with a backpack when you need him?” More sources:

• Glendale Police Officer Suspended For “Inappropriate” Facebook Posts
• Two St. Louis–Area Cops Suspended After Racist Rants
• Glendale officer suspended for anti-protester Facebook posts

So how did I know his name in advance? I learned about Matthew Pappert on July 21st, via Facebook, of course. It started with the following image I took that morning:

From across Market St I saw the traffic cop pull up and get out of the vehicle, I thought to ticket the truck parked in the bus stop I needed to use. As I crossed Market at 16th the truck pulled out and the officer went in to the building, presumably for traffic court.

Not long after posting, the photo was shared by someone. With the privacy set to public I was able to see the comments, I wasn’t prepared for what I read:

Who is this Matthew Pappert guy? Oh look, his Facebook profile says he’s a patrolman for the City of Glendale, a small suburb of less than 4,600 people — 96.7% of them white (Wikipedia).

I was furious so that night I used Glendale’s “contact us” form to email the police department. I never heard back from Glendale and I forgot about it — until last Friday’s evening news. Back to the website I went, but I couldn’t find the name of the chief. I called their non-emergency number and explained to the staff person. I then typed out a letter and faxed it to the attention of the chief, including my email address. I heard back from Chief Jeffrey within an hour:

Mr. Patterson,

Thank you for bringing the information you faxed to me attention. This will be included in the internal investigation we are currently conducting. As stated in my previous press release, the comments and posts by Matthew Pappert absolutely do not reflect the views & opinions of the Glendale Police Department and City of Glendale, Missouri. That includes the comments he posted during your correspondence dated July 11, 2014. I am not sure why we did not get your previous emails but I assure you it will be looked into as well.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Beaton
Chief of Police

I sent supporting documentation via email. On Monday I heard from Captain Bob Catlett, Glendale’s Assistant Chief of Police, who’s investigating. We’ve been corresponding back and forth. After reading the statement from Pappert’s lawyer, I emailed Capt Catlett back to assure him the recent vile comment from Pappert about Ferguson were not an “aberration.” It turns out many in the LGBT community are familiar with his right-wing outbursts.

If  Pappert resumes working, I’d advise all non-whites to avoid Glendale Missouri.

UPDATE: The day this post came out Albers resigned from St. Ann, Pappert was fired by Glendale. The next day Page retired from St. Louis County.

— Steve Patterson

Poll Results On Ferguson Shooting

The poll last week had two questions related to the the shooting of Michael Brown and the leadership afterwords. Many more voters than usual, but these events are known around the world so I expected higher than usual numbers.

Which of the following do you think happened in Ferguson MO on Saturday Aug 9th? (331 votes)

1. Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, forcefully stole cigars from a convenience store a half mile away; was killed by Ferguson PO Darren Wilson who used appropriate force 153 [46.22%]
2. Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, forcefully stole cigars from a convenience store a half mile away; was killed by Ferguson PO Darren Wilson who used excessive force 110 [33.23%]
3. Unsure/No Opinion 38 [11.48%]
4. Michael Brown, an innocent unarmed teenager; was murdered by Ferguson PO Darren Wilson. 30 [9.06%]

In the initial week I would’ve voted for the answer that received the least amount of votes; he was innocent and murdered. The Friday before the poll stared Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson released images of a strong-arm robbery just prior to PO Darren Wilson shooting & killing Brown. Doing so, just before releasing Wilson’s name, was a deliberate attempt to blame the victim. I was skeptical about the timing, leaving the Ferguson Market and getting to Canfield Green in such a short amount of time.  Only later we learn officer Wilson wasn’t aware Brown was a suspect. Still, I don’t think any objective person could’ve picked the last answer, as 30 people did.

The answer that got the most votes was that Wilson used appropriate force. I disagree, I voted that Wilson used excessive force.Very few reasons why an officer should shoot someone six times, walking in the street isn’t one of them.

Since the poll started I’ve been researching the use of deadly force and it’s not a pretty picture. I’ve long been aware of discrepancies between the treatment of whites vs non-whites, but the last two weeks has forced me to realized how much white privilege has benefitted me and all white males.

Much of the future legal wrangling will center on the use of deadly force by Wilson, a Grand Jury will decide if charges are warranted.

Neither the patrol car or Wilson was equipped with a camera so we don’t have video or audio, leaving many questions about that day. Was there a struggle? Did Brown surrender? Did Brown go for Wilson’s gun? Assuming Brown did try to get Wilson’s gun, isn’t six shots excessive? Did Wilson follow proper police procedure? What could both men have done differently that wouldn’t have resulted in the death of Brown?   And what if Wilson had used pepper spray, stun gun, or a taser instead of his revolver?

I don’t know what officers carry on their belt, but I’d assume circumstances dictate when you’d pick one over the other. In late 2011 ’60 Minutes’ ran a piece on taster use:

The Taser sounds like the perfect law enforcement tool. Simple, effective and generally safe, it allows officers to subdue a suspect using electricity rather than resorting to blunt or deadly force. But a recent study found that some officers may be too quick to use the popular stun guns when conventional procedures would suffice. As David Martin reports, there’s growing concern that Tasers may be inflicting unnecessary pain and, in rare cases, lead to death. (Taser: An officer’s weapon of choice)

During the poll two white police officers shot a black man holding a knife.  I’ve watched the video numerous times, this seems like a perfect situation where the use of a taser would’ve been more appropriate. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson avoided the type of unrest that was happening in Ferguson by addressing it head on, not shutting out the media. I think those two officers also used excessive force.

Which two of the following officials has displayed the BEST leadership regarding Ferguson? (PICK 2) (290 total votes)

1. Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson 113 [38.97%]
2. Unsure/no opinion 51 [17.59%]
3. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon 43 [14.83%]
4. Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson 27 [9.31%]
5. St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch 14 [4.83%]
6. Missouri State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal 12 [4.14%]
7. Ferguson Mayor James Knowles 10 [3.45%]
8. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar 9 [3.1%]
9. Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed 8 [2.76%]
10. St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley 3 [1.03%]

Captain Ron Johnson has earned praise from everyone, it seems. Gov Nixon, though gaining the #3 spot, after unsure, has been praised and criticized.

There have been many calling for Bob McCulloch to recuse himself, but he refuses to step aside. If the Grand Jury doesn’t indict Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown McCulloch will be blamed. McCulloch easily won the Democratic primary just four days prior to the shooting, with no challenger in the November general election he’ll win another term unless there’s an independent or write-in candidate.

Not on my list was St. Louis Alderman Antonio French, he’d been reporting up to that point. Since then we’ve seen Ald French assume a leadership role. His number of twitter followers @AntonioFrench have ballooned to more than 120,000. French now has nearly four times more Twitter followers than @MayorSlay. Of course, tweeting isn’t leadership. We’ll see if Ald French can unite factions in the city & region. If he can’t, I’m not sure anyone can.

— Steve Patterson

Aviator Charles Lindbergh Died 40 Years Ago Today

U.S. Route 67 runs north-south from the Mexico border in Texas into Iowa after passing through Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. In St. Louis County U.S.67 is better known as Lindbergh Boulevard, named after famed aviator Charles Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974):

One of the finest fliers of his time, Charles Lindbergh was the chief pilot for the first St. Louis to Chicago airmail route, in April 1926. While based at Lambert Field, he conceived of an airplane that could fly from New York to Paris, and persuaded a group of St. Louis businessmen to finance the project. The result was the immortal “Spirit of St. Louis,” which he flew across the Atlantic on May 20-21, 1927. The feat made Lindbergh a national hero, and raised public awareness of aviation’s potential to an unprecedented level. (St. Louis Walk of Fame)

Lindbergh was born in Detroit and died in Maui, Hawaii at age 72:

Lindbergh didn’t live here long:

March 1924 – Lindbergh enlists in the Army Air Service and begins training. He graduates, first in his class, from the Army’s Advanced Flying School and is commissioned as a second lieutenant. At loose ends because few squadrons need new pilots, he decides to head for St. Louis, where he begins working as a test pilot, barnstormer, stunt flyer and mail pilot.

Fall 1926 – Bored with mail flying, Lindbergh dreams of capturing the $25,000 Orteig Prize that will be given to the first aviator to fly nonstop between New York and Paris. He starts searching for the financial backers necessary to sponsor his flight. Time is of the essence because several other teams of pilots in the U.S. and France, including U.S. Navy Commander Richard Byrd, are preparing their own transatlantic flights.

April 1927 – Construction on Lindbergh’s plane, built by the Ryan Aeronautical Company in San Diego, is completed, and Lindbergh conducts a series of test flights.

May 12, 1927 – Lindbergh arrives in New York. He had crossed the entire country in less than twenty-two hours of flying time. The media takes a shine to Lindbergh, not only because he is physically the most attractive of all the fliers attempting the New York/Paris flight but because he is the only one attempting the journey on his own.

May 20, 1927 – At 7:54 am, Lindbergh, who has not slept in almost twenty-four hours, takes off from Long Island’s Roosevelt Field.

May 21, 1927 – At 10:54 pm, Lindbergh lands at Le Bourget airfield near Paris. A human tidal wave of spectators, 150,000 strong, is there to greet him and Lindbergh is quickly caught up in the riptide of the masses. Overnight, the modern wonders of communication transform the 25-year “boy” into the most famous man on earth. (Lindbergh Foundation)

Lindbergh needed financial backing to buy the plane he needed for the attempt, it came from St. Louis businessmen:

He had $2,000 in savings, and he figured he’d need an additional $15,000.

The first to pony up was Maj. Albert Bond Lambert (note the last name), an enthusiastic balloonist and the city’s first licensed pilot. The others were banker Harold M. Bixby, head of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce; broker Harry H. Knight and his father, Harry F. Knight; aircraft execs Frank and William Robertson; Earl C. Thompson; J.D. Wooster Lambert; and St. Louis Globe-Democrat publisher E. Lansing Ray.

Bixby suggested that Lindbergh name the plane the Spirit of St. Louis. Today Bixby’s nephew, Charles Houghton, says his Uncle Harold had more in mind than honoring his own city. “What most people don’t know is that the patron saint of Paris was Louis IX, Saint-Louis,” Bixby says, “so the French were just thrilled when this plane arrived. Besides honoring the backers and the community, there was that wonderful connection to the French people.” (St. Louis Magazine)

I wasn’t able to find out where Charles Lindbergh lived during his couple of years living in St. Louis prior to the famous flight, perhaps someone out there knows. Charles A. Lindbergh was born on

b

Michael Brown Tribute on Canfield Drive

The funeral for Michael Brown, the teenager shot & killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9th, will be held today. Last week I finally made it down Canfield Drive to see the makeshift memorial to him.

My heart goes out to family & friends.

— Steve Patterson

Weekly Poll/Trivia: Which FOUR (4) of the following are part of unincorporated St. Louis County, NOT a separate village/town/city

The poll question this week is really a trivia question. In the poll, right sidebar, I’ve listed 16 areas in St. Louis County; four, 25%, are part of unincorporated St. Louis County. The other 12 are among the 90 incorporated villages, towns, and cites in St. Louis County. Without doing any research, I’d like readers to pick the four they think are unincorporated.

Here’s a hint: one of the four that’s unincorporated was a village until becoming part of unincorporated St. Louis County in 2012.

On Wednesday September 3rd we’ll see how everyone did and I’ll share some thoughts on fragmentation in the St. Louis region, particularly St. Louis County.

— Steve Patterson