Pubdate: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Copyright: 2006 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Contact: http://www.stltoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/418 Author: Denise Hollinshed BESIEGED POLICE IN E. ST. LOUIS GET BOOST A spike in drug-related crime in downtrodden East St. Louis and a manpower shortage in the city Police Department have prompted the Illinois State Police and several other agencies to step in and help patrol the city. For more than two years, the State Police have been helping East St. Louis investigate its homicides. When drug-related crime increased last month, Illinois State Police Capt. Craig Koehler contacted East St. Louis Police Chief James Mister with an offer to form a task force of officers from the State Police and other agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service and the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwest Illinois. "We are helping East St. Louis buy some time until they get more officers," Koehler said. "We are committed to East St. Louis getting its feet back on the ground. We are hoping they can get the point across to hire more officers, and we can pull out." East St. Louis has long been synonymous with a city in decline. The city's population fell 23 percent from 1990 to 2000, from 40,900 to 31,500. And high unemployment, poverty, crime and corruption continue to beset the beleaguered community. On Tuesday, though, state troopers were out in force. Residents waved and bowed their heads as Trooper Brent Beltz, an 11-year veteran, drove past. One man using a long, thin stick as a cane waved it in the air as Beltz drove by. "I had two elderly people walk up and say that they were glad to see the State Police in the area," Beltz said. "That makes you feel pretty good." Meanwhile, the violence continues. The body of Marlon D. Haynes, 33, of Springfield, Ill., was found Monday in the 1600 block of Piggott Avenue. Haynes formerly lived in East St. Louis. Investigators are attempting to locate two vehicles seen in the area when Haynes was shot. One of the vehicles was reported to be a light blue or gray 1980s or early 1990s Dodge Caravan with wood-grain side panels, and the other an AMC Gremlin or AMC Pacer, of unknown color, with a loud muffler. East St. Louis police Officer Rudy McIntosh, a former deputy chief, said the additional patrol help is badly needed. "The only way this city is going to be saved, though, is with some aggressive police tactics," he said. "I mean, it's wide open down here with the drug trade. We just had another homicide. Everybody is carrying guns. It's like the wild, wild West here. Until law enforcement gets control of the situation, we are in bad shape." East St. Louis police Officer DeAngelo Franklin, a 12-year veteran of the force and a state Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 126 representative, said about 60 officers are on the city police force now. At times, only three or four officers are on patrol, and the number occasionally drops to just two, he added. He said that when he was hired, there were 110 officers, but because of retirements and early retirement packages in 1997 and 1999, the number has dwindled. Granite City, about the same size as East St. Louis, has 55 police officers but less crime. Franklin said officers constantly worry about their safety when patrolling. "We constantly pray that we end our shift the same way we started our shift: intact," he said softly. Koehler said that on any given day, the task force is adding from eight to as many as 30 officers. Mister, the East St. Louis police chief, said the city is working to hire officers. He said the department is down 10 officers from last year. "That's a whole shift," he said. "It does make a difference." The U.S. Marshals Service is rounding up fugitives and checking to make sure convicted sex offenders are registered. The Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwest Illinois has been asked to focus efforts on East St. Louis for the next six months. And there is a plan to add a police detail that will patrol the city's low income housing complexes. Meanwhile, Koehler plans to meet with Mister and East St. Louis NAACP Chapter President Johnny Scott this week in an attempt to reverse the tide of gun-toting youths. "We have to get the guns out of the hands of the 16-, 17- and 18-year-old males who don't realize the long-term damage that it is doing to their lives and other lives," Koehler said. "They are going to end up dead or in prison." Koehler said there is no timetable on how long the extra officers will be working in the city. "As long as we need to," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek