Originally published February 7, 2010 at 11:50 a.m., updated February 7, 2010 at 11:51 a.m.
UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Kirkwood Police Sgt. William Biggs was killed in the 2008 shooting rampage.
UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Photos of City Council members (L to R) Michael Lynch, Connie Karr and Kenneth Yost are part of a makeshift memorial at the Kirkwood City Hall steps February 10, 2008.
A Memorial Walkway is set to be dedicated in the spring of 2010.
MEMORIAL WALKWAY COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Mayor Art McDonnell, Councilmember Gerry Biedenstein, Herb Jones, Chair Barb Byerly, Richard Connors, Phyllis Ravensberg and Bob Sears. City Staff: Mike Brown, Georgia Ragland, Kimberly Butts, Jack Plummer, Murray Pounds and Todd Rehg.
UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Photos of the Kirkwood City Council remained on the wall outside of the council chambers inside the Kirkwood City Hall steps on February 10, 2008.
UPI/Bill Greenblatt
Workman paint and rebuild the City Council chambers inside the Kirkwood City Hall in Kirkwood, Missouri on February 10, 2008.
About two hours into the Super Bowl broadcast on Sunday will be the exact moment that Charles Thornton’s shooting rampage began at Kirkwood City Hall the evening of Feb. 7, 2008.
Last year, thousands of people gathered outside that same City Hall for a somber memorial service that was handled superbly.
We lit candles. We honored those that had died at Thornton’s hand. And then we scattered into a warm winter evening, knowing that the memories of that tragic night a year earlier would always be with those of us who lost a spouse, relative or friend.
Anyone who lived in Kirkwood that night will always remember. We’ll never forget.
There will be no memorial service this year. I am comfortable with this decision. A memorial park is under construction for those that Thornton murdered. It should be complete before summer ends.
It will permanently honor the fallen.
But the legacy of that night lives on.
It lives on in the spirit of an agreement between city leaders and residents of Meacham Park. It is a good-hearted effort that has been ridiculed and mocked. Councilman Joe Godi could not find it in his heart to vote for it. But I believe it is based in a true effort to find common ground between all Kirkwood residents. I support it.
It lives on through the truly disappointing comments lodged by Meacham Park Neighborhood Association president Harriet Patton. The agreement was not a document to address complaints of injustice to the Justice Department including racial profiling, a nationwide problem, nor was it designed to be a mea culpa on racism in Kirkwood.
I often hear that certain black people in leadership positions actually want there to be friction between blacks and whites. They want confrontation. They don’t want to help solve a racial problem; they want it to continue to keep them in the spotlight.
Is this what Patton is doing? I don’t think so. Unfortunately, this line of thinking cannot be ruled out.
Patton and Godi are now allies against the agreement. Funny how that worked out, isn’t it?
Patton’s assertion that a public meeting on the agreement should not be held at City Hall because black people are frightened to go there is complete nonsense.
Where would the African-American race be if those from our past were frightened to take on injustice and unfairness at the root of the problem?
Anyone who is so frightened of City Hall that they can’t go there to either share support or disdain for the agreement of understanding should remember history.
People gave their lives throughout American history for freedom and equality. Blacks and whites weren’t afraid of Selma, Ala., Philadelphia, Miss., the Ku Klux Klan, fire hoses, police dogs, lynching and beatings during the Civil Rights Movement.
Yet Patton says there are black people in Kirkwood and Meacham Park that are afraid of City Hall. I don’t buy that and I never will.
I know Patton, and she is a good woman. But her comments have been truly disappointing to me and many other residents of Kirkwood.
The night of Thornton’s murderous assault also lives on with Chief Jack Plummer and the Kirkwood Police Department. Plummer has seen three officers die while on duty since July 5, 2005 when Kevin Johnson gunned down a policeman. That is more than most chiefs would ever see in a town the size of Kirkwood. Yet he insists that his officers remain respectful to all the citizens they are sworn to protect.
The men and women of the force aren’t perfect. But they have a tough job to do and we as citizens of Kirkwood must continue to respect them and all police officers.
Feb. 7, 2008 now also lives on through the family of late Councilwoman Connie Karr.
They are suing Whelan Security Co., and Ronald Whitehead, the security officer on the scene that night.
The lawsuit contends that Whitehead told Kirkwood Policeman Tom Ballman that Thornton had parked outside City Hall. The shootings happened shortly thereafter.
According to the lawsuit, “…inexplicably, Whitehead then left City Hall instead of taking any action while there was still sufficient time to prevent further injury to the City’s appointed and elected officials, to include Karr.”
What is truly frightening, according to the lawsuit, is the allegation that Whitehead passed Thornton on the steps and left City Hall. Instead of sounding some kind of alarm or attempting to slow Thornton, he left the building.
We have all had to live with the memories of that night.
No memorial service is needed in 2010. That night lives on.
We’ll never forget it. But more importantly we’ll never forget those who died.
It will forever be a part of Kirkwood.
Comments
Rune04 (anonymous) says...
Another reason this will not soon be forgotten, the civil suits have begun. The litigious society we live in today is a travesty. This was a very unforunate and terrible event. I feel for the people who lost loved ones. But having said that, to blame someone and sue them for not stopping this is ridiculous. If they want to sue someone, sue the perpetrator's estate.
February 7, 2010 at 6:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kriegspoodle (anonymous) says...
Gov-I agree 100% with you. Having residents of MP calling this murderer a "hero" is all I need to know about their mindset. Thornton was harrassed by Kirkwood? How about he conduct his affairs like every other citizen is supposed to do. How is that justification for murder? To have these people attempt to justify his murderous rampage speaks volumes about these people. You're quite right, if the races had been reversed, and a white person went on a similar rampage against blacks, we would have Obama in our laps and years of liberal breast beating about the evils of racism in St Louis. The racism is right there in MP. If I were Kirkwood, I wouldn't extend any olive branches to them! I would insist that they act like civilized people, you know, RESPONSIBILITY! What a concept huh? I am so sick of shouldering this burden. When do they carry their own weight and stop demanding special treatment?
February 7, 2010 at 6:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
AlvinReid (anonymous) says...
Please do not condemn all residents of Meacham Park (or Kirkwood) for some of the ridiculous statements you have and will be reading or viewing.
Also, many of the wildest things you are hearing are coming from people who have never lived in Kirkwood or Meacham Park.
Just keep this in mind. And thanks so much for reading the Globe.
Alvin
February 7, 2010 at 8:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
obamain2012 (anonymous) says...
I have noticed a lot of the Fat Cats seem to always be geared toward the black vs white thing in every story that is written on this site. Anytime crime happens there is always a few posters who try to hide their racist thoughts with coded words such as "demographics" it is time to wake up....black people have equal rights, this isn't the 50's & 60's anymore, as much as the certain Cats that I am referring to would probably like slavery to still exist it has been abolished. You need to realize we are all citizens of the United States black or white.
and on that note.........
Obama in 2012 :- )
February 7, 2010 at 10:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Cards64Fan (anonymous) says...
Alvin, you are a good voice of reason. Thanks for keeping us informed about this. Maybe if everyone prays about the situation, the leaders will find a way to resolve it so everyone can live in harmony. Also, it is good to remember most people are not racist. The majority of the readers are not, but they just don't make posts here.
Also, it is great to be able to read about things like this in the Globe-Democrat. Connie Karr is an old Globie. She wrote for the paper as Connie Conroy, and would be very proud to know the Globe has made a return, and if none of this had happened I'm sure we would be reading her articles here. Rest in peace Connie.
February 7, 2010 at 10:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rune04 (anonymous) says...
obamain2012 are you saying that only Republicans (Fat Cats) can be rascists? I learn something new every day.
February 7, 2010 at 10:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
obamain2012 (anonymous) says...
I am not saying only Republicans can be racist; however since clearly majority of the people who post on this site are Republicans then yes I am saying that a few of them mainly the the person who uses the phrase "demographics" I believe is racist and trying to cover it up with using that word.
I definitely don't hold whites (fyi I am white) responsible for what happens to black people. I believe people can make what they want to out of their lives. I have several black friends at my work that grew up poor, and in bad neighborhoods (such as the N. County mentioned above) etc and they have families and lead very fulfilling lives in good neighborhoods. I also grew up poor with my mom being a single mother of two. The fact is my mom busted her ass got a good job, kept us in a good school district, and good neighborhood and all of this without any gov't assistance.
February 7, 2010 at 12:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rune04 (anonymous) says...
obamain2012, I understand. I am not a Republican, but an independent. A little story about my experience with rascism. A friend of mind, who is black, and I were discussing Martin Luther King. I had read where he had affairs while married and I told her I had no respect for him because of this. She immediately declared me a rascist. I told her I felt the same way about JFK and Bill Clinton. She said it made no difference, if I didn't respect Rev. King, I was rascist. This is the reason rascism will be alive and well for many years to come.
February 7, 2010 at 12:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
obamain2012 (anonymous) says...
Tu Che Rune04.....good point.
February 7, 2010 at 1 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Billsey (anonymous) says...
I have to say that I resent obvious left-wingnuts trying to lay all the world’s ills at the feet of conservatives when accurate history would place the great bulk of those ills at the feet of extremists who only CLAIM to have “The People’s” interests at heart.
I and my family used to live in the northern reaches of the city of St. Louis, which used to be a fine area to live in until a bad element moved in. After 18 months of 35+ assaults at the hands of black thugs—for the sake of our safety—we had to leave, giving up our long time home for the merest of pittances because of the influences of the criminal element that had moved into the area.
The people of Kirkwood and Meacham Park suffered a horrible tragedy at the hands of a black man. No amount of skewing, apologetics, spin or outright lies can change the FACT that the gun was held and the trigger pulled by a black man. No amount of excuses can wash away that black man’s guilt. No one made him pull that trigger. He CHOSE to—repeatedly. That is on him and no one else. It is my experience that those who so loosely throw around terms like racist and bigot, stupidly pointing a finger of accusation at those that they don’t like, are not by accident pointing three fingers back at themselves.
The people of Kirkwood and Meacham Park are striving desperately to move past that tragedy—and are trying hard to stand together in doing so. Their cause is not helped by those whose only purpose is to sow discord by trying to blame victims for what a guilty black man did.
There are those who frequent this site whose every post is a poorly disguised effort to blame Republicans for everything they can think of—even though for the past four years ALL of the reigns of power—and therefore responsibility—have been in the hands of Democrats—not Republicans. They also have an annoying proclivity for the divisive terms I mentioned above. They should instead take a CLOSE look at their own lives and their own attitudes.
February 7, 2010 at 2:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
obamain2012 (anonymous) says...
I don't make any attempt to hide my blame for Republican Fat Cats. I do that openly just as those that openly blame Democrats. Honestly I would love it if the politicians would really take the oath of office with an agenda of doing good for American citizens and making America a better place rather then their crooked hidden agenda if self interest and personnal gain.
February 7, 2010 at 5:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Billsey (anonymous) says...
Except that it is Democrats that are running things—not Republicans—so your blame is BS, and you know it.
February 7, 2010 at 10:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rune04 (anonymous) says...
kielman, what was preventable? A madman storming city hall and killing people?
February 8, 2010 at 7:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DeanHartmann (anonymous) says...
kriegspoodle- I consider myself definitely right of center and I cannot allow your kind of vileness corrupt what I consider to be the more pragmatic political view of life in these United States. It is simply naive for you to say here was a "good" neighborhood and then the "blacks" came in and now it is a "bad ' neighborhood. The real truth is this-yes, there was white flight, but use your brain here-it was not simply because of "blacks" in general. Short explanation is this: In a time of more overt racism, middle class African Americans moved into the same stratosphere (or lower) white neighborhoods ( in many cases out of areas like the Ville in near North St Louis because of a lessening of restrictions on housing). This is not when the "white" areas became "bad". It's when the original racist whites moved out because they were scared of people different from them. Once that became endemic and prices lowered ( and good African American famililes followed them out as well), that's when lower class African Americans with the problems of crime associated with any lower class of people got to be able to afford to live there. That's when it made the turn of the neighborhood ineveitable. It became a spiraling, self defeating and self perpetuating problem. In truth- if there were little or no racism shown by the original white residents-then the neighborhood would never have gone downhill. I dare you to find a credentialed sociologist contradict what I am saying here. And believe it or not, I am a registered Republican who has never voted for a Democrat in my life!!
Can anyone else here, back me up on my beliefs ?
February 8, 2010 at 1:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DeanHartmann (anonymous) says...
Everyone, please note:kreigspoodle's comment that I was replying to must have been deleted. Please realize it was in response to something that I felt made a simplistic statement of why white flight happened.
February 8, 2010 at 1:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Billsey (anonymous) says...
Actually, Dean, you mixed his comment with mine, and I have to say that I do not appreciate being told that I'm naive to think that my family fled for the reasons I stated. Even as a child I knew the difference between a dark skin-toned fist and a light skin-toned one. I know who it was that beat me up all those times, that beat my brother up all those times, that beat my dad up all those times, that repeatedly harassed my sisters and my mother and who drove the black family next door to flee before we did. Don’t you dare try to tell me what I did and did not live through in north St. Louis. I was there. You were not.
February 8, 2010 at 9:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Billsey (anonymous) says...
Besides, poverty is no excuse for lack of character. If it is not in your character to commit crime, then you will not commit crime no matter what your income level is. The acts that you commit in your life do not create your character, but only reveal what it already contains. Recent events in our own area should serve as abundant evidence that if crime is a part of your character, you WILL commit it no matter how full your bank accounts are. Claims to the contrary are only the desperate excuses of those who do not want to know reality for what it is. If they did, they would then have to account for their own perversions of conscience, so in order to preserve their own deluded views of themselves they will not face reality, but will instead argue desperately and passionately for what they think makes them look good.
February 9, 2010 at 6:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DeanHartmann (anonymous) says...
Thanks to everyone for discussing. I stand by my comments that if our culture were more culturally diverse in the 50's, the problem could have been lessened somewhat. I have plenty of African American friends that live in St. Charles or St. Peters. I have not heard of anybody leaving St. Charles or St. Peters because of it. My point is that we have now have a greater understanding ( most of us-anyway) and less overt racism. One thing I know for a fact- 15 years ago I had an elderly widow live next door to me to whom I became friends with. One time while talking with her over the fence-she said that if a black person bought a house next door to her that she would sell immediately. She did not say she would move if this black family showed signs of bad behavior-simply because they were black. She asked if I felt the same way and I told her straight out-no, I don't. She said she understood my feeling that way-but that's the way she was raised. THOSE are the people that started the process I described. THAT IS A FACT, My friends in St Charles and St Peters have not met neighbors such as my old friend and I propose that is a sign of progress.
February 9, 2010 at 10:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DeanHartmann (anonymous) says...
P.S. My old neighbor also said at the time that she would never sell her house to a black person either, because then "everybody else" would move and she would not want to start the neighborhood "going bad". Remember, folks-what I am telling you here is the truth behind what other people say is me being naive. You cannot refute what this person told me. If you extrapolate that this was an isolated incidence-then I propose that you are naive.
February 9, 2010 at 10:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DeanHartmann (anonymous) says...
thegoviskillingme, your comments speak for themselves and paint a portrait of you as a person.
I will let everyone draw their own conclusions, as I already know mine. Sufice to say, I might sell my house if you moved next door to me.
February 9, 2010 at 11:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DeanHartmann (anonymous) says...
He, taxpayer and gov, see this hilarious Onion spoof:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/white-family-moves-to-town,1589/
April 2, 2010 at 10:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )