JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Concerns about a racial discrimination lawsuit have stalled the confirmation of Missouri’s public safety director, one of the state’s highest-ranking Black officials, who was appointed shortly after the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson.
Gov. Jay Nixon chose former St. Louis police Chief Daniel Isom II to take over the Department of Public Safety on Sept. 1, amid criticism of a lack of racial diversity among the governor’s department leaders. The appointment was announced about three weeks after a White Ferguson police officer fatally shot Brown, who was Black and unarmed. The shooting sparked numerous protests in and around the St. Louis suburb, including some that turned violent.
The Missouri Senate must confirm the appointment by early next month in order for Isom to continue in the post, but senators delayed action on Isom because of a federal jury’s 2013 verdict. The jury awarded a White police sergeant $420,000 in punitive damages over his claim that he was unfairly denied a promotion because his superiors wanted a Black female to help lead the city police academy.
The jury levied $20,000 in damages against Isom because, as police chief, he was responsible for the actions of other leading department officers. Isom and other defendants have appealed.
“We need to do our due diligence to make sure that we’re not creating a situation where there’s liability created for the state of Missouri,” said state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, noting that Nixon’s office didn’t disclose the lawsuit earlier.
At the time of the appointment, Nixon said Isom had “experience and training in law enforcement that are almost unmatched.”
The lawsuit alleges the academy director told the White sergeant that he shouldn’t bother applying for the position, which was given to Angela Taylor, who is Back, in October 2010. Isom is accused of denying a grievance the White officer filed in the case.
Isom told a Senate committee this week that in his 24 years in law enforcement, “many of the things that you do well (and) don’t do so well, you learn from.”
Nixon defended Isom’s appointment, saying in a written statement, “I’m optimistic that the Senate will move forward on this confirmation.” A Senate committee plans to discuss Isom’s appointment again next week.
___
Associated Press writer David A. Lieb contributed to this report from Jefferson City.
___
Follow Summer Ballentine at https://twitter.com/esballentine
About Post Author
