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ST. LOUIS — A majority of the new board members overseeing city police have forged close ties to local law enforcement, raising questions about their independence and possible conflicts of interest.

Some of those ties are financial, potentially affecting their ability to impartially serve the public.

Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, announced his appointments last week to the new six-member ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Board of Police Commissioners, which will set policies for the department and oversee discipline of officers, including hearing appeals of department leaders’ decisions.

“We’re talking about a board that is going to have a lot of power about how our police department is governed,â€� said ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, a critic of the state takeover and a longtime police reform activist. “They have direct ties to law enforcement.â€�

Police unions, by contrast, have welcomed the selection of a board in line with their interests and applauded the governor.

“We know they have the backs of our brave men and women protecting our streets and serving the STL community,� the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police said.

“The rank-and-file are happy,â€� Jane Dueker, a lobbyist for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Police Officers Association, said during a radio appearance last week.

SLPOA, allied with the Ethical Society of Police, pushed hard for the state takeover, which ended 12 years of city control of the police department.

Kehoe, who ran with police union backing but very little support from ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ voters, has repeatedly acknowledged the role of law enforcement in helping craft the legislation, which the city’s Democratic leadership opposed.

For months, Kehoe portrayed the state takeover as a way to help ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ residents plagued by crime. On Monday, he said the board appointments marked “a significant move towards ... a safer future for the city.â€�

The new six-member board has five voting members, including Mayor Cara Spencer. Three of the voting members named Monday — restaurateur Chris Saracino, downtown bar owner Eddie McVey and photography studio owner Brad Arteaga — have ties to law enforcement.

Another voting member appointed by the governor, former ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Personnel Director Sonya Jenkins-Gray, received financial pledges from the police union and key members to a legal fund she set up earlier this year, while she was fighting then-Mayor Tishaura O. Jones’ move to oust her.

Even the board’s nonvoting member, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County resident Don Brown, has a close relationship to city police. His Chevrolet dealership on Kingshighway — “at the entrance to The Hillâ€� — did $1.3 million in sales with the police department in fiscal year 2025, and $1.5 million in fiscal year 2024.

Potential conflicts of interest isn’t the only criticism leveled against Kehoe’s picks. Some lawmakers and activists have asked why all but one of his nominees — most of whom have been contributors his campaign for governor — are white men and residents of more affluent southwest ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½. Jenkins-Gray lives in the Central West End, and the mayor lives in Marine Villa on the south side. There is no representation from north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, where much of the city’s violent crime is concentrated.

“When you talk about a board and a city where over 40% of the population is Black and it’s only one Black woman, no Black men, a lot of business owners ... it makes me a bit afraid, wondering what the interest of this board will be,� said local activist Ohun Ashe who runs .

A spokesman for Kehoe did not respond to questions from the Post-Dispatch about the appointments, the commissioners’ ties to law enforcement or whether the SLPOA recommended them. But in a radio interview last week, he called the board makeup “well-balancedâ€� and said one member, Arteaga, grew up in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.

The five members appointed by Kehoe are subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate, but they can begin meeting now in an interim capacity. The Senate could take up their confirmation when it returns in September for a veto session.

After the Post-Dispatch began contacting board members, police department spokesman Mitch McCoy called the newspaper to say he would handle communication on their behalf. Asked whether they had been instructed not to speak with the media, McCoy said the commissioners can do what they want.

The voting members named by Kehoe directed the Post-Dispatch to McCoy for comment.

Chris Saracino

Saracino and his family own and operate Bartolino’s restaurants and Chris’ Pancake and Dining. His brother, Bart Saracino, served on the old police board 20 years ago, and his other brother, John Saracino, served on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County Board of Police Commissioners, which is appointed by the county executive.

Chris Saracino also is co-owner of Campbell Security and Services Group, which employs off-duty police officers who work secondary security shifts for neighborhood groups, companies and events. The company’s it “maintains a constant contact with the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Metropolitan Police Department, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County Police Department, and agencies around the metro area to always stay ahead of trends in crime and allow for real time communication related toâ€� officers working for Campbell Security.

Nate Lindsey, a former board member of a Dutchtown neighborhood group that once hired Campbell Security for patrols in the neighborhood, said he believes Saracino is “someone who is civic-minded and has the best interests of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ at heart.â€� But he said there’s “demonstrably a perceived conflictâ€� in having the owner of a private security firm that employs police officers on the board of police commissioners.

“You can’t both profit from private policing and be put in charge of policing in the public interest,� Lindsey said.

In a statement McCoy sent on behalf of Saracino, the business owner said Campbell Security was founded in 2015 and serves various neighborhood groups “because I strive to do my part to build a safer community for all.�

“The Board and SLMPD’s integrity is my top priority as I begin the important work with the Commission,� the statement from the police department on behalf of Saracino said. “I will recuse myself from any vote or matter on topics that may be a conflict.�

In response to criticism of private security firms providing extra policing to affluent neighborhoods, the city had planned a review of moonlighting by off-duty officers. It’s unclear what became of it — or whether policy changes were ever considered.

“Who that is up to is a great question,� Lindsey said. “But it seems the final say is up to Mr. Saracino now.�

Eddie McVey

McVey owns and operates Maggie O’Brien’s Restaurant and Irish Pub on Market Street downtown. His brother, Hugh McVey, was longtime head of the Missouri AFL-CIO.

The registered agent and lawyer for McVey’s businesses is Brian Millikan, a former city police officer and now general counsel for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Police Officers Association who works on union contract negotiations and represents police officers accused of crimes.

Millikan did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement McCoy sent on his behalf, McVey referenced the unsolved 2016 shooting death of his brother, who was found in his car on Interstate 55 after being shot while driving.

“That loss drives my dedication to ensuring a safer, stronger ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ for every family and I will never take that responsibility lightly,â€� McVey said. “I want to assure our community that I take my responsibilities on the Board of Police Commissioners very seriously and I am fully committed to an open process while maintaining the integrity of the Board.

“The attorney you inquired about does not currently represent me on any litigation matters and I promise to recuse myself from any matter where a conflict arises.�

Brad Arteaga

Arteaga owns a photography business and has also served as a board member of the , which says part of its mission is to “demonstrate business support of the police and their important work in the community.�

The group hosts an annual awards luncheon for police, which the group says some 500 people attend annually.

“The purpose of the luncheon is to honor the men and women officers of the Second District who have been chosen by their peers for outstanding performance as Officer of the Month and Year,� the group says on its website.

He also owns a building on South Kingshighway that he allowed the police department to use as a substation years ago.

Arteaga also served on the city’s Civilian Oversight Board for a decade, first appointed by Mayor Francis Slay and reappointed most recently by Jones, the former mayor.

When he was asked about it during his confirmation hearing at the Board of Aldermen’s Public Safety Committee last year, Arteaga said the Second District Police Association met with district commanders about crime in the area of southwest ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.

“It’s just to hear about what kind of crime is going on or what we can do to help,� Arteaga told aldermen.

Aldridge, who was on the committee, voted against Arteaga’s confirmation.

Sonya Jenkins-Gray

The former head of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Personnel Department, Jenkins-Gray was fired in March by Jones — the same mayor who hired her in 2022 — making her the first personnel director to be fired since the establishment of the city’s civil service system in 1941.

Weeks of public hearings earlier this year laid out the details, some of them embarrassing, during a never-before-used process to oust a sitting head of the city’s Personnel Department.

The city argued Jenkins-Gray needed to go because she put an employee in an inappropriate situation by having him use a city car to drive her to Jefferson City during work hours for what the mayor’s office alleged was an attempt to catch her husband, the Rev. Darryl Gray, meeting with his ex-wife. The city also presented evidence that on the day of the trip, Jenkins-Gray told her staff to process a promotion for her driver, Anthony Byrd, resulting in a raise.

Jenkins-Gray maintained that she went to Jefferson City to retrieve “personal� documents from her car, though she has declined to say what those documents were. And she said Byrd’s promotion was in the works before the trip. She maintained Jones was after her for political reasons, including her opposition to a charter change giving the mayor’s office more power over the department and the political activities of her husband.

Jenkins-Gray has a pending lawsuit against the city over her firing.

During the hearings, Jenkins-Gray set up a GoFundMe to raise money for her legal expenses. It hasn’t met its $90,000 goal, but among the donors are the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Police Officers Association, which gave $500; police union business manager Joe Steiger, who pledged $100; and current SLPOA president Martin Garcia, who pledged $100.

In a statement McCoy sent on Jenkins-Gray’s behalf, she said there was “absolutely no conflict of interest� because of the union donations to her fund. She said she negotiated contracts with unions, secured raises for police and upheld “termination of officers who violated public trust.�

“That donation was one of many contributions from a wide range of individuals and organizations who support fairness and due process,� the statement said. “It is both misleading and disappointing to suggest that my service on the Board would somehow be compromised by it.�

Her husband has been an activist and proponent of policing reform in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ for the past 10 years. He also has served as the community liaison for the Ethical Society of Police, which represents Black ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ police officers and also supported the state takeover bill.

Until last week, Darryl Gray had a 2018 lawsuit pending against the city, the former police chief and several officers over his 2017 arrest during protests over the acquittal of Officer Jason Stockley on a murder charge. The city was dismissed as a party in March, and former police Chief John Hayden was dismissed as a party in 2023. Gray agreed to a settlement June 18.

Asked about the suit Monday, Gray said he can’t comment on the settlement. Gray also said he didn’t sue the police department but certain officers.

“I’m very pro-police,� he said. “I am anti-bad cop.�

Mark Schlinkmann and Austin Huguelet of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.