84.120. Police force members--qualifications--removal--delegation of jurisdiction of hearing officers, functions (St. Louis). - Missouri Statutes

Police force members--qualifications--removal--delegation ofjurisdiction of hearing officers, functions (St. Louis).

84.120. 1. No person shall be appointed or employed as policeman,turnkey, or officer of police who shall have been convicted of, or againstwhom any indictment may be pending, for any offense, the punishment ofwhich may be confinement in the penitentiary; nor shall any person be soappointed who is not of good character, or who is not a citizen of theUnited States, or who is not able to read and write the English language,or who does not possess ordinary physical strength and courage. Thepatrolmen and turnkeys hereafter appointed shall serve while they shallfaithfully perform their duties and possess mental and physical ability andbe subject to removal only for cause after a hearing by the boards, who arehereby invested with the jurisdiction in the premises.

2. The board shall have the sole discretion whether to delegateportions of its jurisdiction to hearing officers. The board shall retainfinal and ultimate authority over such matters and over the person to whomthe delegation may be made. In any hearing before the board under thissection, the member involved may make application to the board to waive ahearing before the board and request that a hearing be held before ahearing officer.

3. Nothing in this section or chapter shall be construed to prohibitthe board of police commissioners from delegating any task related todisciplinary matters, disciplinary hearings, or any other hearing orproceeding which could otherwise be heard by the board or concerning anydetermination related to whether an officer is able to perform thenecessary functions of the position. Tasks related to the preceding mattermay be delegated by the board to a hearing officer under the provisions ofsubsection 4 of this section.

4. (1) The hearing officer to whom a delegation has been made by theboard may, at the sole discretion of the board, perform certain functions,including but not limited to the following:

(a) Presiding over a disciplinary matter from its inception throughto the final hearing;

(b) Preparing a report to the board of police commissioners; and

(c) Making recommendations to the board of police commissioners as tothe allegations and the appropriateness of the recommended discipline.

(2) The board shall promulgate rules, which may be changed from timeto time as determined by the board, and shall make such rules known to thehearing officer or others.

(3) The board shall at all times retain the authority to render thefinal decision after a review of the relevant documents, evidence,transcripts, videotaped testimony, or report prepared by the hearingofficer.

5. Hearing officers shall be selected in the following manner:

(1) The board shall establish a panel of not less than five persons,all who are to be licensed attorneys in good standing with the MissouriBar. The composition of the panel may change from time to time at theboard's discretion;

(2) From the panel, the relevant member or officer and a policedepartment representative shall alternatively and independently strikenames from the list with the last remaining name being the designatedhearing officer. The board shall establish a process to be utilized foreach hearing which will determine which party makes the first strike andthe process may change from time to time;

(3) After the hearing officer is chosen and presides over a matter,such hearing officer shall become ineligible until all hearing officerslisted have been utilized, at which time the list shall renew, subject toofficers' availability.

(RSMo 1939 § 7692, A.L. 1943 p. 703, A.L. 1945 p. 1257, A. 1949 H.B. 2033, A.L. 2007 H.B. 41 merged with H.B. 574)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 7544; 1919 § 8954; 1909 § 9806