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January 29, 2015

AN OPEN LETTER TO MICHAEL WOLFF (Dean of Saint Louis University Law School)
ANDERS WALKER (Advisor to Public Law Review, Lillie Myers Professor)
& THERESA CAMPBELL (Editorial Assistant)
It has come to our attention that the Saint Louis University Law School is hosting an event entitled The
Thin Blue Line: Policing Post-Ferguson featuring Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch and St. Louis
County Police Department (SLCPD) Chief John Belmar. It is our contention and many of those in the
community that the paneling of these two controversial guests at this time of heightened tensions in our
area is highly insensitive. It can further be said that inviting of these two individuals to speak from a
place of authority on policing is highly questionable in light of the many critiques received locally,
nationally and internationally on the handling of the Michael Brown case and its aftermath.
Citizens of the greater St. Louis area have been protesting the handling of the Michael Brown case and
its aftermath for 173 days. We assure you that these individuals are passionate in their assertion that a
wrong was committed on August 9, 2015 and have been vociferously voicing their concerns while
requesting a fair and unbiased handling of the case. These protests have persisted now through three
seasons, in multiple locations, and featured a broad spectrum of citizens from not only this region but
throughout the country and world. The protests are ongoing and show no signs of ceasing. We also
contend that including the words Post-Ferguson in the events title is also highly inflammatory,
because our region is not post Ferguson as evidenced by the continued protests.
Protestors have sometimes risked arrest and have been subjected to violence at the hand of the police
who have responded with brutality and intimidation. This abuse was to the level that Amnesty
International issued a special report regarding Ferguson that was highly critical of the handling of the
case and the police tactics deployed. In light of that treatment, a great number of the citizens of the area
have verbalized to us that they consider the scheduling of this event a direct affront to them and we
concur.
In October during OccupySLU, the university entered into an agreement to address the systemic
problems that plague our region. To this end a set of initiatives where put forth in that endeavor to
benefit the community and to make the university more inclusive to African American students. At the
same time Dr. Fred Pestello, SLUs President, displayed a desire for the university to become more
engaged in the community of which it is a member. This agreement, now known as the Clock Tower
Accords (CTA), was solidified after coming to a consensus, with Tribe X and its partners, that conditions
in the greater Saint Louis area continue to have many mired in chronic, systemic injustice and poverty.
In the spirit of that accord and the conciliatory atmosphere that came forth from it, we were under the
impression that SLU would play a significant role in the healing of this region and would be working
toward the betterment of our community. We believe this event as scheduled runs counter to that goal

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and is a significant step back in regards to SLUs
relationship
with the community and in particular the
people who have so passionately and vehemently stood for justice all these months.

Multiple court filings/lawsuits and news coverage have been highly critical of not only Bob
McCullochs role in Ferguson but the policing from the SLCPD while helmed by Chief Belmar. Below
is a list of some of the most salient issues:
Bob McCulloch:

is currently being sued for his negligent handling of the grand jury process in the Michael
Brown Case. This lawsuit lists 58 points of fact;

has allowed his office to preside over a highly unorthodox grand jury process where in
which he allowed witnesses to knowingly give false testimony and failed to prosecute the
same witnesses for perjury;

has a standing bar complaint filed against him in regards to his handling of the Michael
Brown case;

has failed to appoint a special prosecutor in a case where there was inherent bias because
of his close relationship with police and because of the loss of his father to a police
officer;

presided over a judicial system that continues to handle people of color in the Saint Louis
region with implicit bias;

held a press conference on the night of the non-indictment announcement that many
believe was the catalyst to increased anger in the protest community.

Jon Belmar:

is currently operating with under an injunction instituted because officers from his
department wrongly instituted a 5 second rule to protestors in violation of their civil
rights. The 5 second rule prevented protestors from standing still for longer than 5
seconds when at protest sites;

was instrumental in the over-militarized response to peaceful protestors as outlined in the

Amnesty International Report;

was the presiding chief of police whose department took over the initial handling of the
Michael Brown case which was wrought with errors in procedure and protocol, including
allowing the body of Michael Brown to lay in the street for over 4.5 hours;

was also involved in the failed response post non-indictment where the police were
heavily deployed to one side of Ferguson leaving the other side to languish.

We would also like to add that St. Louis in particular has been plagued with courts and policing that has
essentially set out to profile African Americans, charge them large fines, and create debtors prisons.
Although Chief Belmar is not directly responsible for those municipalities, the tensions that reside in the
African American community are deep seated regarding this treatment further lending to heightened
resentment regarding policing in general in the region. St. Louis County Police Department trains many

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3
of the officers that serve in these municipalities.
be remiss to not call into question the
training received.

It is for these reasons that we request that the lineup for this event be reconsidered and if possible the
event be canceled altogether. If the event is not canceled we ask that at the very least that the panel
contain people who are not currently embroiled in a contentious relationship with the citizenry of this
region. It would not behoove the university, the community or anyone involved to continue to have this
event in its current form. We thank you for your consideration in regards to this request.
Sincerely,
Tribe X
References
American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri. (n.d.). Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction in ACLUs
Five-Second Rule Lawsuit . Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.aclumo.org/newsviews/2014/10/06/judge-grants-preliminary-injunction-aclus-five-second-rule-l October 06,
2014
Amnesty International. On the Streets of America: Human Rights Abuses in Ferguson. (n.d.).
Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/on-the-streets-ofamerica-human-rights-abuses-in-ferguson
Better Together. Better Together Releases Municipal Courts Study. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28,
2015, from http://www.bettertogetherstl.com/better-together-releases-municipal-courts-study
Better Together. Better Together Releases Report on Municipal Judges and Prosecutors. (n.d.).
Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.bettertogetherstl.com/better-together-releases-report-onmunicipal-judges-and-prosecutors
Bobic, I. (n.d.). Bar Association Calls On Prosecutor To Recuse Himself From Ferguson
Investigation. Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/19/moundcity-ferguson-mcculloch_n_5691472.html August 19, 2014
Caldwell, L. (n.d.). Concerns arise about prosecutor in Michael Brown case. Retrieved January 29,
2015, from http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-prosecutor-mcculloch/
Daniel, C. (2015, January 5). Bar Complaint Filed Against McCulloch. Retrieved January 28, 2015,
from http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2015/01/05/bar-complaint-filed-against-mcculloch
Holley, P. Ferguson prosecutor says he knew some witnesses were clearly not telling the truth.
They testified anyway. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2015, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/12/20/ferguson-prosecutor-says-he-knewsome-witnesses-were-clearly-not-telling-the-truth-they-testified-anyway/
Horowitz, A. (n.d.). Ferguson Prosecutor Robert McCulloch Gives Bizarre Press Conference.
Retrieved January 29, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/24/bob-mccullochferguson_n_6215986.html

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KMOV. Several Missouri residents file bar complaint
against
McCulloch's office. (n.d.). Retrieved
January 29, 2015, from http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Several-Missouri-residents-file-barcomplaint-against-McCullochs-office--287531281.html

Lee, T. (2014, December 12). Ferguson protesters win injunction to stop cops using tear gas.
Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/ferguson-protesters-win-injunctionstop-cops-using-tear-gas
New York Times Editorial Board. The Meaning of the Ferguson Riots. (2014, November 25).
Retrieved January 29, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/26/opinion/the-meaning-of-theferguson-riots.html
Shalby C. St. Louis DA says he knew of lying witnesses in Ferguson grand jury trial. (n.d.).
Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/da-knew-lying-witnessesferguson-grand-jury-trial/
Taintor, D. (2015, January 6). Michael Brown grand juror sues prosecutor Bob McCulloch.
Retrieved January 28, 2015, from http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/michael-brown-grand-juror-sues-bobmcculloch