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'Scathing' Report Exposes Broken Promises of Cori Bush's Primary Challenger
"Wesley Bell promised long overdue reforms in St. Louis County, but—like his predecessor, Bob McCulloch—he's continued to punish primarily poor and working people," said the Working Families Party national director.
Jul 17, 2024
A local coalition on Wednesday released a report blasting the record of St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who is challenging progressive Congresswoman Cori Bush in the Democratic primary for Missouri's 1st District.
The report about Bell's five years in his current office was published by the Prosecutor Organizing Table, which includes Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, Freedom Community Center, Forward through Ferguson, MacArthur Justice Center, and Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty.
"Early on, Bell cast himself as a progressive looking to make fundamental changes to the way that the St. Louis County prosecutor's office operated," the report explains. "He promised changes to address some of the key issues that plague the criminal legal system, including overcharging, lack of transparency, reliance on cash bail, and criminalization of poverty, drug use, and mental health illness."
When Bell took office in 2019, "many residents hoped to see a leader that would fight to dramatically reduce mass human caging on behalf of Black communities and others disproportionately impacted in St. Louis County," the document notes. "We have seen the office fail to implement meaningful change on a number of important fronts."
The analysis began in August 2022 and includes data the coalition collected from Bell's office, "freedom of information requests, independent research, as well as lived experience from people impacted by the carceral system." The report features a timeline of their communication with his office and points out that "some of the issues and questions raised by the table went unanswered."
The Missouri coalition—whose members lead local decarceration and racial justice efforts—evaluated Bell based on five metrics: transparency, charging decisions, pretrial detention, convictions and sentencing, and commitment to community-based alternatives.
"After early progress, the St. Louis County jail population has steadily climbed under Bell's leadership. It has increased 23% in the past year and 46% in the past two years," the report highlights. "Meanwhile, the nation's overall jail and prison population has fallen by over 10%."
"While failing to reduce the jail population long-term, Bell's office has succeeded in securing a $1.8 million budget expansion and a $700,000 [American Rescue Plan Act] grant to hire new attorneys and build out satellite offices with the police," the publication continues. "This risks inflating the office’s budget for years to come, creating even more power to put our neighbors behind bars."
In addition to calling out Bell's prosecutorial record, the groups offered "recommendations for shifting policies and practices towards a survivor-centered approach to restorative justice to decarcerate and address violence at its core."
Bell "discounted the report as politics," according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Many of the organizations backing the report, he said, have endorsed Bush. And he said she won't debate the issues publicly."
The prosecutor told the newspaper, "My opponent refusing to answer questions and hiding behind this group is disingenuous and does a grave disservice to this community."
Meanwhile, ArchCity spokesperson Z Gorley pointed out that the analysis began long before Bell announced he was running for Congress and Bush's campaign accused Bell of using the congresswoman as a scapegoat "to evade responsibility."
The Working Families Party (WFP)—which has endorsed Bush—called the report "scathing."
"Wesley Bell promised long overdue reforms in St. Louis County, but—like his predecessor, Bob McCulloch—he's continued to punish primarily poor and working people," said WFP national director Maurice Mitchell. "St. Louisans deserve better from their prosecuting attorney."
The race between Bell and Bush has garnered national attention in large part because Republican billionaires and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) have backed the prosecutor for the August 6 primary in hopes of ousting the congresswoman for criticizing the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip and her supportiveness of a range of progressive issues.
AIPAC's other top progressive target this cycle was Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who was defeated by his pro-Israel primary challenger, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, last month. Just days later, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) released a joint statement endorsing Bush.
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After Shooting, Cori Bush Blasts Missouri Republicans Who 'Obstruct Gun Safety Laws'
"Missouri has some of the weakest gun laws in the country," said the St. Louis Democrat. "So to the Missouri Republicans who are pointing their finger at the people of Kansas City... this blood is on your hands."
Feb 15, 2024
A day after a deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade, Democratic Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush on Thursday took aim at Republicans from her state who "continue to eviscerate and obstruct gun safety laws."
"St. Louis and I rise to send our love and condolences to Kansas City, Missouri in the wake of yesterday's mass shooting," Bush said on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. "This preventable and despicable epidemic of gun violence, it affects us all. It impacts my district in St. Louis; it impacts your districts; it impacts our entire country. And it does not need to be this way."
"Missouri has some of the weakest gun laws in the country," she noted. "So to the Missouri Republicans who are pointing their finger at the people of Kansas City, Missouri and calling them 'thugs'... this blood is on your hands. You don't get to scapegoat the victims of this shooting when you are actively blocking gun violence prevention legislation."
Republicans lawmakers' allegiance to the National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful gun lobby group, over the needs of the people is "absolutely shameful," the "Squad" member declared. "Missouri needs you to act. Join us in passing meaningful commonsense gun safety legislation, so that we can put an end to this crisis and save lives."
The Wednesday shooting left at least one person dead—Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a disc jockey and mother of two—and 22 others injured, according toThe Kansas City Star. No charges have been filed but two unidentified teenage suspects are in police custody.
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'They Just Killed Him': New Video Betrays Police Depiction of Fatal Shooting
Amid ongoing demonstrations in city of Ferguson, Mo. and national outrage over police violence against black community members, new evidence in Tuesday's shooting of man by St. Louis police
Aug 21, 2014
New video footage from a cell phone camera at the scene of a deadly shooting by two St. Louis Metropolitan police officers two days ago strongly betrays the depiction of the killing given by the department in the aftermath of the incident.
Kajieme Powell, a 25-year-old black man was shot and killed by police on Tuesday just miles from where ongoing street protests in response to the August 9th killing of a black unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, have garnered international attention. Following the death of Powell on Tuesday, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson claimed the shooting was justified because the man was brandishing a knife--"with an overhand grip" and making swiping motions--as he approached the two officers on the scene.
However, the new footage taken by a civilian bystander but released by the department late Wednesday shows that although Powell appeared agitated, his hands were at his sides and does not appear to be as close as stated when the officers opened fire with lethal force.
An extended version of the cell phone video shows additional minutes that preceded the arrival of the police which shows, despite his agitation and yelling, that Williams is not threatening passersby or brandishing a weapon. :
St. Louis Police Release Graphic Video of Shooting of Kajieme Powell near Ferguson, Mo.St. Louis Police Release Graphic Video of shooting of Kajieme Powell near Ferguson, Mo.
According to the Guardian:
The video will reinforce concerns raised by witnesses who asked why the police officers did not use Tasers or shoot Powell to wound rather than kill. Sam Dotson, the St Louis police chief, said the officers may not have been able to Taser Powell because of his sweatshirt. In the video the sweatshirt appears to be open.
On Tuesday a witness to the shooting, Doris Davis, said she did not believe the police needed to kill Powell. "I think it was excessive. People said he had a knife but if he had a knife they could have shot him in the foot. Or Tasered him. They didn't have to kill him," she said. "I couldn't believe my eyes, I have seen anything like that. I've never seen anyone get shot."
As the video makes clear, a mere twenty seconds went by from the time the officers arrived on the scene and shots were fired.
Journalist Tim Dickinson noted:
Another journalist, the Huffington Post's Zach Carter, stated:
Twitter user S. Dott Cathell responded with:
\u201cAnother unarmed man shot and killed by St. Louis police officers. This is getting beyond crazy RIP #KajiemePowell\u201d— Dott_Dinero (@Dott_Dinero) 1408623613
The broader reaction on Twitter by community members and others was immediate with many expressing both sadness for Powell's brutal killing and anger at the St. Louis Metropolitan Polce Department who, despite the new evidence, continue to defend the actions of the officers.
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