Should federal authorities investigate St. Louis police practices?
Sunday’s Post-Dispatch had a front page story about how St. Louis runs its own police towing service, but also contracts with a private towing firm to also tow cars in police matters.
The story, Tow firm deals draw questions brings to light that the chief’s daughter, and some officers, consistently received free vehicles to drive for personal use. The chief’s daughter was also allowed to purchase confiscated vehicle for prices far below the vehicle’s actual value.
The company continued to supply her with more vehicles — until the Post-Dispatch began asking questions this spring and, police say, Chief Joe Mokwa ordered the firm to stop it.
On Friday, the police department first acknowledged part of the arrangement. The next day, it began contradicting details in an investigative report from its own law firm on when the chief learned of the arrangement.
Department attorneys said that there is no proof the private company ever got preferential treatment, so at worst it might be a violation of police rules.
Still, the Police Board president said that department will stop using Metropolitan Towing and turn over all towing business to the city.
U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway questioned why police didn’t bring in the FBI or Missouri Highway Patrol to investigate.
Should state or federal authorities be brought in to investigate the department’s practices?
Maybe she has a “Ryan License”. There are plenty of those atill around. They are largely why we see so many tractor trailer accidents around STL.
(For out of towners…Ex IL Gov Ryan gave out driver’s licenses and other official documents for money and other considerations to unqualified peoples for MANY years. Kind of like an old white male repub paper whore highly paid with the john taxpayers’ money).
Why is eveyone so surprised that public officials and cops take advantage of their positions and grab all kinds of “freebies” from what is owned by the public? Anyone close to the street will tell you what crooks and thugs they have always been.
Wake up!
Why is eveyone so surprised that public officials and cops take advantage of their positions and grab all kinds of ”freebies” from what is owned by the public? Anyone close to the street will tell you what crooks and thugs they have always been.
Wake up!
I am a BIG Mokwa fab, but this could have been handled responsibly two years ago and coming on the hhels of use of stolen tickets and no one fired….time to send a message. Bye Joe, I’ll miss ya’.
Fran — no more good ole boys…think out of the box on the next pick….
Scottfhree,
For future reference, the St. Louis County Police Department does not currently and has never had a contract with MO-Jo’s Towing.
Colonel Jerry Lee
Chief of Police
St. Louis County Police Department
No wonder we’re 1st in the country in crime…our cops are crooks and thugs too! Mokwa needs to go to jail and so do his crooked cops.
The St. Louis police department is out of control. When I visit STL I find more police eating in resturants, guarding ice cream parking lots, and eating pop corn in hotel lobbies than I do working the streets. High crime areas get little attention and there is no police coverage. Moving auto tickets are fixed to loud mufflers to avoid ticket penalities. The whole police system is corrupt and needs correction.
I think that would be a good idea to hae them to come in to investigate ,how many times we are going to here about chief mokwa and his crew. And We don’t need a chief that has a daughter that can’t do better then the people out here that make mistakes , how can we be protected when there’s trouble at home under his nose , and also I think him and the whole creww should be proscuted ust if it was a person on the street.
Amy Mokwa is an adult who should be responsible for her own actions. Why bring down an upstanding police chief? Why tarnish his reputation?
the question here is did the Chief approve of this practice or did he use his influence in directing this for his officers or daughter.
The money, if any owed, would go to the tow company, since they own the vehicle at that point.
S&H was contracted because City Tow was slow to respond. Officers had to wait on scene for a tow truck for hours because of lack of manpower.