Chief clarifies comments on Cape police morale

Thirty days after telling the Cape Girardeau City Council morale in his department was “bad,” Cape Girardeau’s police chief said it is the national narrative about law enforcement — not the response of city residents — that has had a deleterious effect.

Chief Wes Blair said his 80-person department lost four mid-career employees in recent months, officers who left law enforcement entirely.

“I don’t believe my officers are not wanting to come to work or are disgruntled at all,” Blair said, while also noting the constant negative drumbeat provided by network news sources can be hard to take.

“It seems every single night (on the news) officers are being assaulted (somewhere) and a single mistake turns into a riot,” said Blair, Cape Girardeau’s chief since 2013.

“We’ve had a few officers leave because their families don’t want them to do this occupation anymore,” he said, adding, “they’re scared.”

The chief said he is understanding of the fear.

“Families hear the anti-police rhetoric and see their loved one going to work every day and it concerns them,” opined Blair.

Blair noted the department has a hiring test scheduled Friday.

“The unfortunate thing is, when an officer leaves, it takes quite awhile to get a replacement,” Blair said.

Diversity

Blair was quick to note the city is currently served by only one Black officer and said what tends to hamper getting a more diverse police contingent is money.

“The cost of attending a police academy is a problem,” said Blair, noting the school is not free.

Blair recently partnered with not-for-profit One City and Southeast Missouri State University football in putting on a car wash to raise funds aimed at defraying the cost of minority attendance at the academy.

“Unfortunately, the department isn’t permitted to use our funding for this purpose, so we support fundraising efforts,” he said.

Backing the blue

Blair said he communicates the message of community support to his officer corps whenever he can.

“Speaking anecdotally, it seems almost weekly someone or some business wants to bring lunch to us or ask us to send officers to them so that they can show their gratitude,” Blair said.

Blair, as chief, gets to speak to service clubs and other community groups and he tends to hear more positive feedback than the men and women out on patrol.

“I do get to hear the good stuff,” he said, “and it’s important for me to share it because the ‘good’ sometimes gets lost in the grind of the job.”

PulsePoint app

At Monday’s City Council meeting, Cape Girardeau police officer Jennifer Rubin, a resource officer in the city’s elementary schools, received a standing ovation for her recent lifesaving efforts.

Using the new PulsePoint app available for those with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training to download into smartphones, Rubin responded while off-duty and started CPR on a stricken person until the fire department was able to arrive on the scene.