Alderman Antonio French traveled to Jefferson City Monday to testify before the House Committee on Urban Affairs. French spoke in support of a bill sponsored by State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed which will finally return control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department back to the people of the City of St. Louis. The state has controlled the department since the Civil War.
Just days after the hearing, another scandal has rocked the police department.
From the Post-Dispatch:
Mayor Francis Slay says that the name of a nephew of a Police Board member — picked up Saturday for DWI — was blacked out in a department log book, concealing evidence of his arrest.
“That looks like a cover-up,” Slay said told Charles Jaco on KTRS (550 Am) this morning.
The Post-Dispatch reported yesterday afternoon that Police Board member Vincent J. Bommarito — better known as the boniface at the esteemed Tony’s restaurant downtown — intervened to help his nephew, who had been arrested in Soulard during Mardi Gras on suspicion of drunken driving.
Instead of being charged, the nephew, Christopher Campo, was released to the custody of a sergeant Bommarito had called when he learned about the arrest. The sergeant then dropped Campo, 46, off at a bustling Tony’s, packed with couples celebrating Valentine’s Day early.