Name: St. Louis aldermen narrowly endorse 18-hour aircraft surveillance
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St. Louis aldermen narrowly endorse 18-hour aircraft surveillance

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Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors.Last chance! Subscribe with this special offer to keep readingLoading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisSt. Louis aldermen narrowly endorse 18-hour aircraft surveillanceShare thisST. LOUIS — By the narrowest of margins, the Board of Aldermen on Friday endorsed a potential aerial surveillance program aimed at helping police investigate the city’s soaring violent crime problem.The board voted 15-14 to give preliminary approval to the measure. It would direct Mayor Lyda Krewson or her successor to contract with an Ohio-based company proposing to fly airplanes up to 18 hours a day over the city.“Our city is in crisis mode,” said sponsor Tom Oldenburg, D-16th Ward, citing the city’s 262 murders last year, .Backers say the aerial cameras could track the path of suspects and vehicles from key crime scenes and help in police investigations. The 18-month contract wouldn’t kick in unless the company found private donors to cover the cost.“We owe it to the victims past, present and future to proceed with this free trial program,” Oldenburg said.Opponents warned that the plan posed a threat to civil liberties because the cameras could track every movement on a wide swath of city streets at any given time.Alderman Bret Narayan, D-24th Ward, called it “a dystopic, totalitarian way of monitoring every citizen and every worker in the city of St. Louis.” Dan Guenther, D-9th Ward, said it was part of a dismaying trend toward the “militarization” of police.Several aldermen from high-crime areas spoke out in support, saying some opponents just don’t understand the fearsome conditions their constituents live in.“Come live in the 4th Ward so you can see what we’re going through,” said Alderman Dwinderlin Evans, who represents that North Side area. “Give us some hope towards some normality of living.”Oldenburg said he talked with Krewson and public safety officials about his bill and made requested by the mayor. One bars the company from direct access to existing street cameras.The revised bill also requires a written request from a police officer — Oldenburg says an email would suffice — before a company aircraft could zoom in on a crime scene after a shots-fired or 911 notification.The mayor hasn’t said if she will sign or veto the measure if aldermen pass it next week.Among those voting in favor was Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, who is running to succeed Krewson in the March 2 primary. Another mayoral candidate, Alderman Cara Spencer, D-20th Ward, voted no. Mayoral candidate Tishaura Jones, the city treasurer, also has come out against the bill.City residents may not vote on the city workhouse issue at the April 6 election after all because of a dispute between two supporters of a bill that would schedule theThe chairwoman of the aldermanic Rules Committee, Sharon Tyus, D-1st Ward, on Friday said she wouldn’t take up the bill until next week. Her committee isn’t scheduled to meet until Wednesday, the day after the deadline in state law for qualifying an issue for the April ballot.Tyus’ decision kept the full board, which gave the measure preliminary approval last week, from passing the bill Friday. Tyus said while she supported the bill, it wouldn’t be fair to take it up ahead of some others also pending. She also alleged that referendum sponsor Jeffrey Boyd, D-22nd Ward, held up some of her bills in a panel he chairs.If Tyus’ committee clears the bill next week and the board passes it next Friday, Boyd said he’d ask the city counselor to file suit to get a judge to schedule the referendum after the deadline. Krewson also has to sign the bill.Tyus’ committee performs the ministerial function of engrossment, a procedure aimed at ensuring that changes made to a bill during the legislative process were incorporated correctly.Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors.{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.Topics

Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors.Last chance! Subscribe with this special offer to keep readingLoading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisSt. Louis aldermen narrowly endorse 18-hour aircraft surveillanceShare thisST. LOUIS — By the narrowest of margins, the Board of Aldermen on Friday...

St. Louis aldermen narrowly endorse 18-hour aircraft surveillance

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