Mo. Police Chief Could Join Half of Rank-and-File in Working 2nd Job

ST. LOUIS — As the city's top cop explores taking on a second job to boost his income, the tradition of "secondary employment" for police officers is in the spotlight.

Working secondary has for decades been a way for police officers to earn extra money. The practice comes with a bevy of rules on what the officers can and can't do on the side.

Currently, about 450 of the 872 St. Louis police department's commissioned officers have an application on file to work a second job. That's about 52% of its workforce.

At the St. Louis County Police Department, 498, or 63% of its 790 commissioned officers, are currently authorized to work secondary.

St. Louis police Chief Robert Tracy could soon be among the officers working a second job.

Rules for the chief

"Extra duty," as Tracy calls it, comes with certain expectations for the chief.

Tracy on Dec. 8 signed a three-year contract with the Board of Police Commissioners to stay on as chief of the city's police force. His salary next year will be $183,000.

Tracy's salary this year was $175,000, plus an additional $100,000 paid by private donors of the nonprofit St. Louis Police Foundation. But the foundation said it's ending that incentive.

Tracy, 61, said he might take on a second job to make up the difference.

Tracy's contract with the police board spells out the terms for any outside employment: He can work up to 32 hours per week at a second job. But he has to "temporarily forgo" the outside job during public emergencies, natural disasters or civil unrest. Also, he would need to keep a log of his time at the second job and show it to the board if asked, just as a rank-and-file officer must do.

The contract points out that Tracy's work hours vary in his role as police chief, and he is considered "on-call" 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Therefore, he agrees to devote the amount of time and energy necessary to faithfully perform the duties of the chief," the contract states.

Tracy hasn't provided any hints at what the second job might be, though some sort of consulting role is likely. A St. Louis police spokesman, Mitch McCoy, had no updates Friday. McCoy previously said any announcement about a second job for Tracy would be made by the entity that hires him, not the police department.

Rules for city officers

Off-duty city police officers working secondary often will work security shifts for private businesses. Others are hired by neighborhood groups or to work at events, including Cardinals, Blues and St. Louis City SC games.

"This isn't out of the norm," McCoy said of cops taking a second job. The St. Louis department even has lieutenant colonels working secondary, McCoy said.

"We've made it clear that your secondary work should not interfere with your primary job as a police officer," McCoy added.

Permits from the police department allow each officer to work up to 32 hours a week at a secondary job. National accreditation groups such as the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies recommend policies to prevent officers from working too many hours so they don't get overly tired.

Most of the latest rules on the topic are spelled out in an order signed in 2013 by then-police Chief Sam Dotson. The rules distinguish between police-related secondary, such as security or investigations; and non-police-related secondary, where they aren't using their police powers for the job. Those jobs might include plumber, tax preparer or carpenter. They all have to turn in documentation about the hours they work to prevent double-dipping.

The rules prohibit certain jobs. For example, officers can't work second jobs for attorneys who primarily practice criminal defense. They can't drive a taxi, conduct divorce investigations or work at a casino, as a debt collector or process server. Officers working a secondary job at a bar or nightclub, for example, have to work in pairs for their safety, the rules say.

Rules in other police departments vary. The county's policy for secondary work, last updated two years ago, explains that the purpose of regulation is to "maintain an efficient organization that is mentally and physically alert." A software program called RollKall manages it. Every year, the county chief gets a report on how many officers work secondary jobs, how many hours they've worked and a list of employers.

St. Louis County police Chief Kenneth Gregory doesn't work a second job, said Mary Schmitt, a county police spokeswoman.

The rules also govern how many hours the county officers can work each day. If the officers worked a 12-hour shift, then they could only work four hours in the secondary job that day. The county police force also limits its officers to no more than 72 hours of work per week, including their regular job, any overtime and secondary employment. For example, an officer who already worked 50 hours for the department could only work 22 hours in the second job that week.

What can officers do?

Officers need to get the department's permission to get a second job. In their applications, St. Louis police officers have to list the specific duties they would have, such as traffic control or neighborhood roving foot patrol. They have to disclose whether they will be wearing a police uniform or working in plain clothes.

Officers working a second job in security can wear their department uniforms and use their guns but can't use other police equipment — such as vehicles, radios, Tasers, bicycles, dogs and computers — without written approval from the police chief.

The department can't be sued or blamed for any damages or injuries while the officer is working secondary. The company that hires the cops for secondary jobs is responsible for liability insurance and workers' compensation.

Most police agencies, as well as sheriff's departments, allow secondary employment. Officers even travel far to get the extra cash.

What are the issues?

An off-duty policeman with the Leadington, Missouri, Police Department early this year drove 60 miles to St. Louis to work as a security guard at the Wheelhouse bar. He fatally shot a man, 25-year-old Kobie Davis, when a crowd got into a brawl outside the bar last Jan. 1. Authorities said Davis was shot after he pulled a gun in the fight and refused to drop it.

The Leadington officer's police chief said it’s normal for officers to travel far for secondary duties. Some drive 100 miles, he said, “because they’re looking at anywhere from $25 to $100 an hour” to work security for private companies.

In 2020, a consultant pointed out that the St. Louis department didn't have adequate controls and procedures in place" to ensure that employees were submitting required documents. The group, Teneo, wrote in its report: "As a result, the department did not detect some employees claiming to be working at the SLMPD at the same time as they were working at their secondary employer."

Later the same year, a state audit found cases where officers working second jobs worked 18 to 21 hours in one day. Then-state Auditor Nicole Galloway recommended the St. Louis police do a better job tracking secondary employment hours "to quickly identify any errors and situations when employees may be working more than allowed." In response to the state audit, the police department said it was tightening controls and oversight.

Evita Caldwell, a St. Louis police spokeswoman, said last week that officers working a second job must turn in an annual report. The report includes days they were sick from their regular police job and checks to make sure their secondary employer is still on an approved list. The update is signed by the officer's chain of command, she said. Random audits ensure they are logging their secondary hours properly, Caldwell added.

Despite the rules and checks, a few allegations of double-dipping in the city and county departments have surfaced over the years.

A police lieutenant for St. Louis County was accused of stealing time from the department by working a security job while on the clock for the county. But in 2023, the St. Louis County prosecutor dropped one count of felony theft as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.

In St. Louis, the circuit attorney dropped charges that same year against a police captain accused of double-dipping while on duty. He was accused of working for another business without getting approval from the police department, and that work overlapped with some of his duty hours.

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