St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay has appointed Eddie Roth as the city's new director of public safety.
Roth is a former editorial writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and served on the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners, including a year as president. He was hired in August 2011 to help the city implement the recommendations of an IBM study that found its criminal justice system needed better coordination. A statement from Mayor Francis Slay called Roth "ideally suited to serve as public safety director during this important period in the city's history."
Roth succeeds Charles Bryson, who has been public safety director for the last five years. He'll return to the mayor's staff as a senior advisor on neighborhood affairs.
Bryon came under sharp scrutiny last fall after six inmates escaped from city jails in 15 months. But Sam Dotson, Slay's director of operations, called that irrelevant to today's announcement.
"We've addressed where we thought the problems were in corrections with the commissioner," Dotson said. "Now what we're doing is focusing on making city government better. This is about getting Charles in a spot that his skill sets are very good, and getting Eddie in a job where his skill sets are very good, and making city government work.
Former corrections commissioner Gene Stubblefield was fired just before Christmas. A hearing on his dismissal is scheduled for next week.
