Missouri Voters to Decide Whether St. Louis Should Control Own Police Department After Century and a Half

It was taken over during the civil war because of its firepower

The Civil War was just getting started when the state of Missouri took control of the St. Louis Police Department. A century-and-a-half later, the city wants it back.

Years of efforts by the city to wrest control from the state Legislature failed, so this time, Missouri voters are being asked to decide. Proposition A, if approved in a statewide vote on Nov. 6, would allow St. Louis to once again run its own police department, starting in July.