Tuesday editorial: Closed? Not so fast
The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners seriously bungled its initial inquiry into how Police Chief Joe Mokwa’s daughter — and, possibly, numerous police officers — got free or deeply discounted use of cars that cops had seized on the streets.
Now the board is taking another shot at it.
“The board now considers this investigation closed,” it concluded in a press release issued Friday.
But on Monday, what was closed suddenly was reopened. The timing of what Mr. Mokwa knew and when he knew it is open for further review. The board decided to invite U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway to review the case.
In the meantime, Mr. Mokwa will stay on the job — although how he can hope to lead the department after misleading his bosses, the cops who work for him and the people of St. Louis is anyone’s guess. The chief is expected to address that issue when he meets with reporters today.
We hope Ms. Hanaway will accept the board’s offer. There are public integrity issues involved, to say nothing of potential tax issues associated with the free use of expensive perks such as automobiles.
At stake is public confidence in the leadership of the department, including Mr. Mokwa and his bosses on the five-member Police Board. Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, who appoints four of the five board members (the mayor of St. Louis automatically is a member), should urge Ms. Hanaway, a fellow Republican, to help protect the reputation and integrity of the police department.
The board should have brought in independent investigators accountable to the general public as soon as it heard about the cops ’n’ cars allegations. Instead, the board hired a private law firm that was accountable only to the board itself. “Inadequate” is the kindest word we can apply to the report released by the police board’s chairman, Chris Goodson, on Friday.
The report said that earlier this year, Mr. Mokwa was notified that his daughter, Aimee Mokwa Goodrich of Wright City, had been driving a Chevrolet Malibu previously seized by city police when she was stopped on a traffic violation by Warren County Sheriff’s deputies in November 2006.
Mr. Goodson said Mr. Mokwa had notified the board “immediately” and that the board immediately — on April 7 of this year — had hired the law firm to conduct an internal investigation.
Key questions must be answered: What exactly does “immediately” mean? When did Mr. Mokwa become aware that his daughter was driving cars that she hadn’t paid for and had obtained from a city contractor? When did he tell his bosses on the Police Board?
Also what exactly is the chief’s relationship with Greg Shepard, the former city cop who manages S&H — a parking lot, towing and auto sales firm? Shortly after Mr. Mokwa became chief in 2001, S&H created a new entity, St. Louis Metropolitan Towing, to take possession of cars used in crimes.
Post-Dispatch reporters Jeremy Kohler and Joe Mahr reported Sunday that since 2002, Aimee Goodrich regularly has driven previously seized cars that she obtained from S&H’s car sales unit, Parks Auto Sales. In 2002, she was driving one of those cars, a Dodge Neon, when it crashed in South St. Louis.
Another question for the chief: Given that she crashed the Neon in 2002, why did he claim to be surprised that she had obtained another seized car in 2006?
The Armstrong-Teasdale report suggests that officers from the city’s Fourth Police District downtown also enjoyed liberal, extended “test drives” and discounts from S&H. The report asserted that S&H kept no records of who drove what and for how long or what anyone might have paid for it.
A check of Department of Revenue sales records could have revealed if a police officer bought an S&H car and how much he paid for it. There is no indication that that was done. It should be, even though the Police Board has canceled its contract with S&H.
Joe Mokwa has done a solid job as chief of police. We sympathize with him as the father of a troubled daughter. But he has some explaining to do.
No responsible parent ever want to see their child continuously escape punishment for their bad behaviors and skirts with the law, but every citizen should be able to expect when their child comes before the law, that these same officials and authorities would look at each one of these young people or adults as if they were their own child in that same position regardless of race or social standing in the community.
No one expects anyone to escape punishment,only compassion when dealing with other people’s children. Everybody is somebody’s child. I also sympathize with Mokwa as the father of a trouble daughther, but it appears that he doesn’t know when to set boundaries and have enabled his daughter in getting better and in discontinuing her destructive behavior. She sounds like one who needs professional attention and care have not recieved it because of authorities being so corrupt they can’t even see and recognize their own wickedness in behaving in their way. It is cases of the blind leading the blind and, they all will fall in the pit together.
These authories whose path Aimee Mokwa have crossed are as much to blame as she herself is for her continuous destructive behavior.
Worst however, is the corruption within the system to cover-up these wrongs, if not crimes and injustices.
Our society of leaders are in a really disgraceful state. We have an entire society out of control, leaders, authorities, attorneys, judges, policemen, and other officials all the way down to the one on the low potem, our citizens. It alway starts at the top and works it’s way down. See a society out of control, just look at the top, even when you can’t see it, with all the cover-ups, IT’S THERE. It’s the rule of natural law.
Authorities and officials should alway be held to a higher standard than the society as a whole, and little do these one’s realize, they are in our Maker’s sight. You can only get by for so long, but you won’t get away.