Jeff Roorda

Jeff Roorda
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 113th district
In office
2013–2015
Personal details
Born March 30, 1965
St. Louis, Missouri
Political party Democratic
Residence Barnhart, Missouri
Alma mater Missouri Baptist University
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Website

Jeffrey Roorda[1] was a Democratic member of the Missouri House of Representatives, serving since 2013 to 2015. Roorda ran for the Missouri Senate in District 22 in 2014,[2] but he was defeated by Paul Wieland, a Republican from Imperial.[3] A former police officer, he is also the executive director and business manager of the St. Louis Police Officers Association.

Career

Roorda has worked in law enforcement for seventeen years.[4] He was a police officer in Arnold, Missouri until 2001, when he was fired for making false statements.[1][5] Later, he became chief of police in Kimmswick,[4][5] another city in Jefferson County. He is the executive director[6] and a business manager[7] of the St. Louis Police Officers Association. On January 16, 2014, Roorda sponsored a bill that, if passed, will allow the government to close "any records and documents pertaining to police shootings [...] if they contain the name of any officer who did the shooting, unless the officer who did the shooting has been charged with a crime as a result of the shooting, in which case such records or documents shall not be closed."[8][9][10]

Roorda said the St. Louis Police Officers Association has had concerns about dashboard cameras in use on many city patrol cars and would have the same worries about on-body devices. Roorda said both types of cameras provide video of “one angle of an encounter” that sometimes doesn’t reflect exactly what happened. “In general, cameras have been bad for law enforcement and the communities they protect,” he said. “It causes constant second-guessing by the courts and the media.”[6]

Roorda has helped with the fundraising for Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who was under investigation for the controversial killing of Michael Brown, and Roorda has publicly defended Wilson.[5] Roorda demanded an apology from the NFL following a public display of protest by several members of the St. Louis Rams.[11] In January 2015, Roorda, wearing an "I am Darren Wilson" bracelet, instigated a fracas at a meeting of the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis by pushing a woman as he was approaching and arguing with the aldermen.[12][13] The woman alleges minor injuries[14] and the union removed Roorda as its spokesperson on matters regarding a proposed civilian oversight board,[15] about which the aforementioned meeting was hearing public testimony.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "ROORDA v. THE CITY OF ARNOLD". FindLaw. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ Faughn, Scott (April 25, 2013). "Roorda off to strong start in Senate District 22". The Missouri Times. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  3. ↑ http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-roundup-write-in-candidates-could-make-a-difference-in/article_ffbe7988-51bb-585a-9918-b91580fa64c6.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Jeff Roorda". jeffroorda.org.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Ferguson fundraiser mystery solved -- or is it?". Los Angeles Times. September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Schlinkmann, Mark. "New Melle, Crystal City and Troy, Mo., may buy 'body cameras' for police officers". 23 February 2014 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  7. ↑ Kaste, Martin (August 28, 2014). "Zero-Tolerance Policing Is Not Racism, Say St. Louis-Area Cops". National Public Radio. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  8. ↑ Peters, Jonathan (June 12, 2014). "Allowing police to shoot someone without creating a record you can see". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  9. ↑ Boehm, Eric (August 15, 2014). "Missouri Lawmaker Tried to Restrict Public Info on Police Shootings". Newsmax. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  10. ↑ "HB 1466". openstates.org. The Sunlight Foundation. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Mathis-Lilley, Ben (Jan 29, 2015). "Controversial St. Louis Police Rep Involved in Scuffle at Civilian Oversight Hearing". Slate. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
  12. ↑ Swaine, Jon (29 Jan 2015). "St Louis Police Official Unapologetic after Pushing Woman at Public Meeting". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  13. ↑ Lippmann, Rachel (Jan 29, 2015). "Chaos At Hearing On Civilian Oversight Bill Highlights Ongoing Divisions Between Police, Community". St. Louis Public Radio. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  14. ↑ Toler, Lindsay (Feb 2, 2015). "Woman Files Assault Complaint Against Police Union Rep Jeff Roorda After City Hall Brawl". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  15. ↑ Byers, Christine (Feb 16, 2015). "Controversial St. Louis Police Union Leader Muzzled When it Comes to Civilian Review". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2015-02-16.

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