BYRNES MILL, Mo. — A new website should be activated by Monday to take comments and complaints about how police officers treat motorists during traffic stops, says the chairman of a committee that is reviewing police activities.
The site was set up by the committee as a way to gather information that could lead to a lawsuit against Byrnes Mill police officers or municipal officials, committee Chairman Wayne Bonacker said Thursday. The residents' committee was formed after a public meeting in June, when dozens of motorists alleged that Byrnes Mill police officers had been unnecessarily abusive in traffic stops. In some cases, motorists said, their vehicles were ordered impounded and towed for relatively minor traffic violations. Other motorists said they had been verbally or physically abused or both by police officers. Bonacker said he agreed to head the committee not because of any personal complaints about the Police Department but because "I hear a lot of complaints through my business," Bonacker Farms, a commercial farming business near Byrnes Mill. Committee members have been studying whether Police Chief Ed Locke should be removed because of complaints that his officers sometimes have acted arrogantly and unprofessionally toward motorists. Bonacker says the committee has yet to call for Locke's removal but that committee members would discuss that possibility in a meeting soon with Mayor Tim Checkett. Locke has defended himself and his officers. He says he has been running an efficient, professional department that has helped keep Byrnes Mill safe. Locke said Thursday that video cameras installed in Byrnes Mill patrol cars in July had been recording his officers' traffic stops since then. "We're waiting for the first person to come in and complain" since the cameras went into operation, he said. He added that he hoped the residents' committee would come up with suggestions about how to improve the Police Department and not focus solely on whether he should be replaced as chief.
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