St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones took aim at state lawmakers during her second annual State of the City address Tuesday.
"For people who don't live here, they sure do have a lot to say about how St. Louis should run our police department," Jones said. The state legislature has been vying to regain control of the city's police department after voters chose to put the department back under local control in 2013. Another bill from the state legislature would allow the governor to appoint a special prosecutor for violent crimes.
Jones also addressed the state legislature's recent moves that would prevent transgender people from accessing health care, and the state's abortion laws.
"In St. Louis, we support a woman's right to choose, the right to bodily autonomy and access to a legal and safe abortion," she said. "In St. Louis, we will fight to protect our trans youth and adults from hateful and bigoted attacks on their right to live their authentic lives."
As for the issue of public safety and police, she said efforts put forth by St. Louis to "reimagine" law enforcement are already showing results.
"All property crime is down except for car thefts," she said. "And we're taking Kia and Hyundai to court to hold them accountable for the public safety hazards their vehicles have created on our streets."
She said new public safety policies are just now being implemented, and are already starting to work, and that progress is being made on reducing crime, increasing police pay and making the criminal justice system more equitable.
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