Remove St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar

St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar should be removed from his post due to the unacceptable actions of officers of the St. Louis County Police Department and other departments under his supervision in the days following the shooting of Michael Brown Jr. by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.

From August 9th when Michael Brown was shot to August 14th when Missouri Governor Nixon passed supervisory authority to the Missouri Highway Patrol, the following actions were carried out:

· Allowing Michael Brown’s body to remain in public view for over four hours.
· Pointing of loaded sniper rifles at peaceful demonstrators.
· Use of excessive force, including tear gas and sting balls.
· Over-militarization through premature deployment of armored vehicles and
military uniforms.
· Premature deployment of canine units.
· Harassment, intimidation and detainment of local, national and international
media in violation of the First Amendment.

Chief Belmar’s overall approach to policing exacerbated and escalated conflict between police and aggrieved members of the community, and has damaged the reputation of the St. Louis County Police Department, and embarrassed St. Louis County and the entire St. Louis metropolitan area.

Chief Belmar’s failure to effectively supervise the police response in Ferguson is underscored by the interventions of Governor Nixon and President Obama, by the criticisms of Senator McCaskill, City of St. Louis Police Chief Dotson, and St. Louis former City of St. Louis Police Chief Daniel Isom, and by the complaints of more than forty media organizations, including the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, CNN, ABC, NBC, the Associated Press, NPR, Time Inc., Fox News, The National Press Club, Tribune Publishing Co., et al.

Replacing Jon Belmar with a more suitable official will be an important step in regaining the public trust and credibility of the St. Louis County Police Department, and in repairing the reputation of Greater St. Louis.

Cc: Governor Jay Nixon, Senator Claire McCaskill, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder