St. Louis City Police Respond To Claims Of Detectives Dragging Their Feet On Investigations

CBS St. Louis

January 16, 2021

Crime victims or relatives have voiced their concerns about not getting updates from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to News 4 for months now. In a recent review of the department, an independent agency called into question St. Louis City police's quality and transparency of investigative practices. Monica Glover reached out to News 4 about her son's death; 22-year-old Darrion Glover was shot and killed in north St. Louis City in July of 2020. No one has been arrested for his shooting death. "He took care of his family. He was always involved in sports. He always did anything anyone needed to do, he was willing to do it," said Glover. Glover feels like her repeated calls to the department have fallen on deaf ears. "I feel like the police is not doing nothing," said Glover. "They say they just had a case where it took two years. I'm not going to wait two years, I'm not. I'm not that mom to wait two years for you to tell me who killed my son."

Major Shawn Dace is a commander over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's investigative services, which includes homicides, sex crimes, and child abuse. He said investigators never stop investigating until they run out of leads. One of the challenges, he said, is the detectives' caseload. "The national average I think is between three to four cases per detective. Our detectives are handling nine to 10 cases at a time," said Dace.

There are currently 34 homicide detectives in the department, which Dace said is more than ever before. Those detectives only investigate homicides. There is also a 10-person cold case squad. A cold case is considered anything one year or older, according to the department. If no arrest is made in Darrion's death by July, his case will turn cold.

"They feel like he just another Black male. They just sweep that type of stuff under the rug for real," said Janiyah Wright, Darrion's fiance. "I'm a Black man and we care. Over 90% of our homicides are unfortunately from people of color," said Dace. Dace said he has lost loved ones from homicide."To lose a family member to violence is something I don't know if you ever come back from so I can understand they're, they're looking for someone to blame and feel like they're not being heard but they are," said Dace. Since 2016, there have been 1,042 homicides in St. Louis City. Of those, 488 remain unsolved, not including 2020. Police said they are still calculating those numbers."My son is laying in a grave while people are walking their streets living their life," said Glover. Glover said she'll keep calling until she gets answers and justice for her son.
"We do care, we're doing all we can. My detectives are really committed 24 hours a day," said Dace. Dace said collective evidence, processing it, and convincing witnesses to come forward and cooperate can prolong the investigation. He also said each case is different and there is no average time it takes to solve a homicide. The department relies heavily on tips. You can make a tip anonymously to Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS.