ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - A community meeting on crime and public safety Wednesday night in the Central West End at the Schlafly Library left many residents shut out.
KMOX's Maria Keena was the only St. Louis news outlet at the meeting, but was refused entry because of capacity issues. However, even when people left the meeting, Keena was still not allowed inside the room to record the speakers, which included new Police Chief Robert Tracy, Mayor Tishaura Jones, and judges from the 22nd Circuit Court.
The above flyer was posted publicly on Facebook. Residents were not allowed to ask questions and those kept out of the meeting were told to scan a QR code to listen to the meeting on Facebook -- but the audio quality was at times inaudible and frequently dropped out. Some attendees told KMOX that it wasn't what they expected.
A resident who asked not to be identified said, "I think we were all expecting to have a more direct discussion about current problems and how there were going to be plans to help resolve them."
That resident said it turned out to be "more of an advertisement of what we're doing, and how we're doing it, and how great we are at doing it".
A Schlafly Library representative, who would only identify herself as the general manager, advised Keena to go outside because the library had policies against solicitation.