Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri announced Tuesday that
he's forming a commission to help plan for a peaceful future in Ferguson and beyond in the wake of widespread protests in metropolitan St. Louis after the shooting death of Mike Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on August 9. The top activists in the nation and on the ground in Ferguson responded with nothing but distrust.
Criticized
around the country for his
slow initial response and
tone-deafness to frustrations in Ferguson, perhaps nothing causes concerned citizens to distrust Nixon more than his unwavering support of one man, Jeff Roorda, current member of the Missouri House of Representatives who is now running for a position in the state Senate in Missouri.
Jump below the fold for more.
In 2001, Jeff Roorda was fired as a police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Arnold, Missouri, for falsifying reports in 1997 and again in 2001.
Roorda lost an appeal of his termination in the Missouri Court of Appeals in 2004 when it was deemed that he did indeed falsify reports.
In spite of being fired for police misconduct in 2001, Roorda was hired as chief of police in neighboring Kimmswick, Missouri, the following year.
Two years later, in 2004, Roorda ran for and won a seat in the Missouri state House of Representatives, where he soon was placed on the statewide Public Safety Committee.
In 2005, Roorda wrote House Bill 396, which would allow police officers to—and this is an exact quote from his bill—"collect hazardous samples without court approval, document and then destroy them, and make them admissible." While it didn't pass, it is a shocking peek into the mind of Roorda 10 years ago.
In 2012, Nixon campaigned for Roorda.
In 2013, police assaulted a teenager in handcuffs, but were found not-guilty—with the support of Roorda, working in a new capacity as an executive with the St. Louis police union.
Here's the awful video and outrageous comments made by Roorda.
In March 2014, in reference to the support of Nixon,
Roorda said, "I’ve enjoyed support from Governor Nixon every time I’ve run. That support has been very important to my success."
In early 2014, Roorda wrote and sponsored House Bill 1466, which would change the Missouri sunshine laws requiring open records on police-involved incidents. Roorda's bill would seal all records involving any/every police action and prohibit police departments from releasing the names of officers involved in shootings.
Filed exactly one week after the murder of Brown, Roorda is listed as vice president of the charity behind the Darren Wilson fundraiser.
In spite of Roorda supporting the Wilson fundraisers during a tumultuous time for the state and a new spotlight on Roorda's troubled past, Nixon, in September 2014 campaigned again for Roorda.
Also in September 2014, Roorda continued to speak out against the use of dash cameras and body cameras worn by police officers.