ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Tracy says the timing couldn’t be worse for the state attempting to take control over the department.
Tracy argues that the fight to remove the city’s control over the police department is not based on results, but rather politics.
“I believe it’s politics in policing—absolutely. When I came in two years ago, they were looking for a change, and this mayor hired the first outside police chief in two decades, looking for that change,” he told FOX 2 Wednesday. “We met all their benchmarks, and then they came back again last year, and we met them again. So when you continue to make the progress they asked for, why are we back at the table again?”
The chief said those benchmarks are clear with crime trending down across the city.
According to Tracy, crime numbers are down 50% downtown, 42% in Downtown West, and it is overall down in almost every neighborhood.
Now, police are getting a 7% raise.
“We’re getting competitive. We’re not the highest paid, but we continue to validate the hard work our policemen and women do,” Tracy said.
The City of St. Louis is about to begin collective bargaining talks with the police union, which Tracy says will bring another raise.