Jan. 01--ST. LOUIS -- One of the items topping Sam Dotson's to-do list as the new chief of the city's Police Department is among the most controversial in law enforcement: allowing the public to have a say in the way police officers are disciplined.
The 18-year veteran of the department -- who officially becomes chief today -- said civilian review will become a reality in St. Louis under his watch as top cop.
"We need to protect the rights of our officers and give the community that added trust in the department that things won't be overlooked or swept under the rug," said Dotson, who is replacing Dan Isom as chief.
The issue was one of many Dotson addressed during a recent interview, from strategies for fighting crime to his history with one of the department's most controversial chiefs.
The interview was conducted in his former office at City Hall, where Dotson served for 18 months as operations director for Mayor Francis Slay while detached from the Police Department. Pictures, plaques and posters that once decorated the walls and shelves were piled on his desk, along with books about leadership and business management. The dry-erase board he used to fill with notes was blank.
And a police uniform replaced his suit and tie.
On Monday night, Dotson was in uniform when he attended a New Year's Eve vigil for victims of homicide.
When he officially assumes his new role as chief today, Dotson doesn't plan to waste much time. First, he wants to study how civilian review boards are organized around the country. The boards typically review Internal Affairs investigations and make suggestions on disciplining officers.
The idea has been debated, and opposed, in St. Louis for years. Among the critics is the union for rank-and-file officers.
Jeff Roorda, business manager for the St. Louis Police Officers' Association, said he wants to hear Dotson's plan but warned that the chief won't find a community where civilian review has worked well. Roorda said the boards are typically "lynch mobs" that publicly scorn officers for split-second decisions already reviewed by a host of officials.
"It undermines the disciplinary process that already exists," Roorda said.
But that process is about to change. The city will assume control of the department from the state July 1. That means the five-member Board of Police Commissioners that the governor appoints to run the department will dissolve. The Civil Service Commission, which handles personnel matters among city employees, will handle officers' discipline.
"The civil service process is much more employee-friendly than the Police Board," Dotson acknowledged.
That's one reason why groups such as the NAACP-St. Louis opposed the November ballot initiative to allow the city to assume control of the state-run Police Department, said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the city's NAACP chapter. The group supports civilian review.
"That's refreshing," Pruitt said of Dotson's view. "Until I see what it looks like and how it is going to operate, I will withhold some judgment. ... But if he is moving in that direction, that is something we're going to be very supportive of."
Dotson said he is aware of the union's concerns, and he understands them from his days as the department's representative in negotiating its first-ever collective bargaining agreement in 2010. Police sergeants also are about to enter into a collective bargaining process.
"I need them next to me," Dotson said of labor groups, "so they can't criticize me because we made the tough decisions together."
Since becoming chief, Dotson, 43, also has become a member in the Ethical Society of Police, a predominantly African-American police officers group.
"If I expect boundaries to be broken down in this department," he said, "it has to start with me."
WORKING WITH COUNTY
Dotson plans to break down boundaries when it comes to working with county police, possibly even merging some services.
St. Louis County Police Board members quizzed the county chief, Tim Fitch, about Dotson's reputation during their December meeting.
"I would expect the collaboration that began with Isom to continue," Fitch told them.
Dotson agreed, noting that expensive tactical operations units, as well as bombing and arson units, could be combined.
Still, he sees the need to invest in new equipment and firearms for his officers. And he wants to combine some police districts by studying staffing levels in each district against crime statistics, geography and population. The moves could save money and help better target crime.
"The goal is to show people we police the city the same, but there are going to be hot spots within the districts because I support the idea of putting officers where the problems are," he said.
Dotson credited Isom with initiating "hot-spot" policing. He also credited former Chiefs Ron Henderson and Joe Mokwa with teaching him important lessons.
"I learned from all of them what to do and what not to do as chief," Dotson said.
He didn't dodge questions about how he plans to convince the department of his integrity, given his history as aide to Mokwa, who resigned in 2008 after a scandal over the department's towing contract.
Dotson was never implicated in the scandal, and he notes that Mokwa was never criminally charged despite investigations by federal authorities. Key players in the towing scandal were prosecuted, however, and the company has been ordered to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars to the city.
Dotson said he did not want to criticize Mokwa but said he learned from the experience.
"It's taught me that it's important to know everything that's going on in the department because I'm the one who has to uphold the integrity of the department," he said. "The lesson it taught me is I have to be better."
Isom also gave Dotson advice before he left for a teaching post at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
"He told me you have no way of comprehending how difficult this job is. To have 1,300 officers risk their lives for you every day and you can't go to bed at night without worrying ...?," Dotson said, pausing to wipe tears as he realized that he may someday speak at an officer's funeral.
"I've been responsible for planning funerals before, which always gave you a feeling of doing something when no one else knew what to do," he said. "These officers are putting their lives on the line, and knowing I'm responsible for it is a new feeling."
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