DELLWOOD, MO. (KTVI-FOX2.now.com)—
Serious crimes, including rape cases and child abuse cases, in Dellwood, Missouri, have gone unprosecuted and the mayor says it`s because of police misconduct. Officers allegedly mishandled critical evidence and never turned over investigations to prosecutors. But not everyone believes the allegations. The city of Dellwood put its chief on leave in November and St. Louis County loaned the city an administrative officer to fill the position. When he came in, Dellwood Mayor Loretta Johnson says he discovered trouble.
The department`s handling of evidence was in disarray. Officers had taken weapons confiscated in crimes for their own personal use, and sold copper that was evidence in another case to a scrap yard.
Those revelations sparked an audit, which uncovered disturbing details. In more than 120 crimes, Dellwood officers did not present the case to the St. Louis County prosecutor`s office to apply for warrants. And in dozens of cases, they never sent evidence to a lab for analysis.
"There are rape cases. You try explaining that to somebody`s daughter who was a rape victim and thought evidence was being taken seriously, and taken to St. Louis County for processing and it never made it," said Johnson.
But some of Johnson`s critics say this is politics at work. Johnson is in favor of dissolving Dellwood`s police department and allowing St. Louis County to take over. Four aldermen are on her side. But four others are not. They have been boycotting Board of Aldermen meetings since December to prevent a quorum from being present, so the board cannot vote on the takeover.
James Lovings is one of the aldermen boycotting the meetings. And he says the entire audit is biased and skewed, because the mayor supports the county takeover, and the county did the audit. 'You should be able to read between the lines on this,' he said.
"A lot of officers are not applying for warrants because they have already tried. The cases go there, sit in a lab for two or three months before you get results back, and then the end result, it`s denied."
"The problem is not just Dellwood. I`m sure other municipalities are experiencing this issue, where officers go and apply for different applications and it gets denied," he said. "And some of these cases are still being worked."
But the statute of limitations is up on some of the cases involved.
Based on the audit findings, Mayor Johnson is recommending three officers be terminated, but the firings need board approval. Until a board meeting happens, the officers are on unpaid leave.
Other officers will be disciplined, said City Administrator Frank Myers. "Part of the discipline will be training so these officers know how to properly do their jobs," he said. Some officers knew what to do, others had completed the process for a small number of cases, but "then totally neglected the process for a large percentage of others," he said.
Dellwood`s department is dwindling in numbers. Only seven full time officers remain, and two are taking jobs with St. Louis County in early February. Dellwood typically has 15 to 16 officers, but several have left due to the uncertain future. Some are applying for jobs with the county in anticipation of a takeover.
"This is not a witch hunt. The proof is there. It`s up to me to react to it," said Johnson. "I think the citizens that did not get justice deserve an answer and it`s up to me to ask the questions what happened"
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