St. Louis County Police Lt. James Morgan (left) answers a question for Justin Bristol of Edwardsville prior to an assessment test at a Diversity Fair sponsored by the St. Louis County branch of the Ethical Society of Police. Morgan is also president of this branch of the ESOP. The fair was held at Hazelwood Central High School on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018, with police agencies from 10 different jurisdictions represented.
ST. LOUIS — Sgt. Donnell Walters has been elected president of the Ethical Society of Police, the group announced Tuesday.
Walters replaces Sgt. Heather Taylor, who stepped down upon her September retirement after 20 years with St. Louis police. Taylor is also Walters’ cousin.
“I proudly stand in her shadow,” Walters said. “She has paved the way and done so much. My goal is to continue that and do even more, such as making sure we have a seat at the table.”
ESOP was founded in 1972 by a group of Black officers to address racism in the city police department.
Walters ran unopposed in this week’s special election. He will serve as president until he runs for a two-year term in the group’s regular election, scheduled for February 2021. He previously served as ESOP’s recording secretary.
In addition to advancing ESOP’s push to become a collective bargaining unit, Walters said he also wants to ensure that minorities are properly represented in police groups and organizations.
Walters works in the department’s community engagement and recruitment unit, and he’s served with St. Louis police for 18 years, including a stint with the department’s SWAT team. He also developed the department’s de-escalation program following Ferguson’s 2014 uprisings.
“It’s the same advice for everybody. Stand up. Speak up if you see wrong, and be prepared to be retaliated against if you do,” Taylor said. “We’re fighting the good fight.”
ESOP’s county chapter was officially recognized in June via a memorandum of understanding from County Executive Sam Page. In all, more than 300 officers in the city and county are ESOP members.
In August, the group released a report criticizing disparities in discipline among officers of different races, as well as insufficient recruitment of minority officers. The report said 73% of recruits who went through training this past summer were white, despite the majority of applicants being Black.