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St. Louis County Executive trying to bully Police Chief out of office PDF Print E-mail
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Tuesday, 27 January 2009 05:15

By This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 01/16/2009

CLAYTON — St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley is seeking to oust county Police Chief Jerry Lee, according to several county officials.

One source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that Dooley was upset with Lee's public disagreement last month with Dooley over police pay. Dooley has been seeking support for the ouster among members of the St. Louis County Council, said sources, who also asked for anonymity.
Dooley is also reshaping the Board of Police Commissioners, which hires and fires the police chief. One Police Board member said that Dooley told him last week that he and another board member — the only two not appointed by Dooley — would be removed.

Dooley's spokesman, Mac Scott, declined to discuss the reports. 
The disagreement over police pay became public in a Post-Dispatch story published last month. In it, Lee said that $1.3 million that Dooley wanted to add to the police budget to hire 14 officers as part of a Youth Violence Initiative would be better spent on raises for his officers.

"I'd give that money to my people," Lee was quoted as saying. "I've expressed that opinion to administration."

Dooley was irate over Lee's comments, a source said.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 February 2009 01:22
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