{"id":9121,"date":"2026-04-09T05:50:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T05:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:50:17","slug":"why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/police-1024x683.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption>\n<p>Amid a fear of rising crime, some public officials are calling for even more resources into a fatally flawed system.  Ben Jealous argues that would be a terrible mistake (Scott Olson\/Getty Images).<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The State Police Board quashed St. Louis Mayor Spencer\u2019s plans for a revamped civilian review board for police misconduct. The board, which now runs the city\u2019s police department, concluded that such review is illegal\u00a0under Missouri\u2019s 2021 \u201cPolice Officer Bill of Rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bill of rights, among other things, requires that police misconduct investigations remain confidential in the absence of a subpoena or court order. Civilian review allows for the public to have insight into how police misconduct is investigated and punished, and advocate for change when those processes are found lacking.<\/p>\n<p>Communities harmed the most by crime and violence do not want less policing \u2014 they want better policing. But police cannot operate effectively without the trust of their communities: people will not report crime or cooperate in investigations when police are a source of fear rather than comfort.<\/p>\n<p>A 2025 Gallup poll suggests that trust in policing \u2014 which decreased in aftermath of the George Floyd murder and other high-profile police misconduct \u2014 has begun to rise again. Among Black Americans, who report significantly lower trust in police overall, confidence in local police rose 9 percentage points between 2022 and 2024.\u00a0 Policing reform\u00a0\u2013 including civilian oversight boards and other transparency measures, such as public dashboards, may be contributing to the positive trend.<\/p>\n<p>As one of the first states to adopt a \u201cright to know law\u201d \u2013 known as the Sunshine Law\u00a0\u2013 in 1973, Missouri legislators have long recognized our rights to know how our tax dollars are spent. Until recently, police misconduct records, even those in internal discipline, were subject\u00a0to Sunshine Law disclosure.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, the Republican majority passed the Police Officer Bill of Rights on a party-line vote. Among other provisions, the bill of rights carves out a special exemption to the Sunshine Law for police officers, shielding administrative investigation files from disclosure except via subpoena or court order.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, transparency need not be a partisan issue, nor a fight between \u201cBack the Blue\u201d and social justice advocates. Other conservative-leaning states\u00a0provide greater insight into police misconduct than Missouri.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Arizona \u2014 along with 11 other states \u2014 publishes an \u201cintegrity bulletin\u201d with de-identified information about completed officer misconduct investigations, including a summary of the offense and sanction imposed.<\/p>\n<p>Opponents of citizen review raise concerns about privacy, particularly for officers who were accused but not found guilty of misconduct. But transparency cannot be constrained to confirmed cases of misconduct, given that the investigations often drag on for years. The public must be persuaded that alleged misconduct is investigated thoroughly and urgently, that determinations are just, and that sanctions are appropriately administered.<\/p>\n<p>Even following a criminal conviction, Missouri police officer licenses\u00a0are not automatically revoked. A 2025 report\u00a0found that police officers frequently remain on the job \u2013 or transfer to other police departments \u2013 after allegations of egregious misconduct.<\/p>\n<p>In an illustrative 2023 case, a St. Louis police officer ran his car into a south city bar and lied about the circumstances. Once inside, the officer allegedly beat up one of the bar\u2019s co-owners and arrested the other co-owner on dubious charges. Attorneys for the bar owners repeatedly stonewalled\u00a0in their requests for officer personnel records, until it was eventually revealed that the officer had a \u201csubstantial history of misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Only after significant media attention was the officer forced out of the department.<\/p>\n<p>There are well-established practices for de-identifying records that do not shield publicly funded agencies from media and public scrutiny. For example, several states, including Florida\u00a0and Tennessee, issue detailed reports assessing violations of policy or regulation by child protection agencies surrounding suspicious child deaths that redact employee names.<\/p>\n<p>Given their expansive powers over our lives and freedoms, police must be held to high standards \u2013 and we cannot simply take the word of the involved agencies that these standards are enforced. Transparency and accountability facilitate, rather than interfere with, public safety.<\/p>\n<p>Following the lead of other states, the Missouri legislature should modify the Police Officer Bill of Rights to allow for commonsense transparency, including disclosure and review of deidentified internal investigation records.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amid a fear of rising crime, some public officials are calling for even more resources into a fatally flawed system. Ben Jealous argues that would be a terrible mistake (Scott Olson\/Getty Images). The State Police Board quashed St. Louis Mayor Spencer\u2019s plans for a revamped civilian review board for police misconduct. The board, which now&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amid a fear of rising crime, some public officials are calling for even more resources into a fatally flawed system. Ben Jealous argues that would be a terrible mistake (Scott Olson\/Getty Images). The State Police Board quashed St. Louis Mayor Spencer\u2019s plans for a revamped civilian review board for police misconduct. The board, which now...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T10:50:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/police-1024x683.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\"},\"headline\":\"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-09T10:50:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/\"},\"wordCount\":708,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/police-1024x683-bvTVTG.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/\",\"name\":\"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view - WestplexNews.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/police-1024x683-bvTVTG.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-09T10:50:17+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/police-1024x683-bvTVTG.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/police-1024x683-bvTVTG.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"WestplexNews.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png\",\"width\":690,\"height\":242,\"caption\":\"WestplexNews.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\",\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Brad Hildebrand\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/Westplexnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view - WestplexNews.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view - WestplexNews.com","og_description":"Amid a fear of rising crime, some public officials are calling for even more resources into a fatally flawed system. Ben Jealous argues that would be a terrible mistake (Scott Olson\/Getty Images). The State Police Board quashed St. Louis Mayor Spencer\u2019s plans for a revamped civilian review board for police misconduct. The board, which now...","og_url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/","og_site_name":"WestplexNews.com","article_published_time":"2026-04-09T10:50:17+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/police-1024x683.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Brad Hildebrand","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brad Hildebrand","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/"},"author":{"name":"Brad Hildebrand","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0"},"headline":"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view","datePublished":"2026-04-09T10:50:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/"},"wordCount":708,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/police-1024x683-bvTVTG.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/","name":"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view - WestplexNews.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/police-1024x683-bvTVTG.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-09T10:50:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/police-1024x683-bvTVTG.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/police-1024x683-bvTVTG.jpg","width":1024,"height":683},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/why-missouri-should-stop-shielding-police-misconduct-from-public-view\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Missouri should stop shielding police misconduct from public view"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","name":"WestplexNews.com","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization","name":"WestplexNews.com","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-Westplex-News-MASTER-PNG-CLEAR-CROP-690-X-242.png","width":690,"height":242,"caption":"WestplexNews.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0","name":"Brad Hildebrand","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc2f8931c569b15114c958f40a15bda5a2ae504b7f31d3ecf1c2227aa19e0071?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Brad Hildebrand"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/Westplexnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/author\/bradh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}