Saint Louis County Executive Page: ‘I’m sure there’s systemic racism in our police department’
ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOV.com) – St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page addressed racism within the police department during his Friday morning COVID-19 press conference.
“I’m sure there’s systemic racism in our police department, as it’s part of our community,” Page said when asked if systemic racism existed within the St. Louis County Police Department. “Doesn’t mean that every interaction between two people is racially charged, but no one could argue that racism doesn’t exist in our community, but we have to work past that, and the conversation we’re having now is how we’re going to do that, what sort of training is in place, is that training being followed, that’s the sort of conversation we’re going to have. We’re in the middle of a great civil rights debate in our country.”
Page said he sent a letter to the Board of Police Commissioners asking them to review current policies within the police department. He also said the department follows all state guidelines regarding use of force and those policies have been in place since 2010.
When asked about calls to defund police, Page said he didn’t think defunding public safety should be done.
“I think we should have a serious conversation about what is the role and responsibility and duty of a police officer and whether some of those duties could be accomplished by someone else, whether it’s a social worker, or nurse, or some sort of volunteer,” he said. “But the evolution of the job description of a police officer has changed greatly.”
Page also said the underfunding of substance abuse and mental health challenges within the community has had an impact on public safety.
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