By Nassim Benchaabane
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
RIVERVIEW, Mo. — St. Louis County is taking over policing here after the suburb’s police department furloughed its officers, officials say.
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced late Thursday the county was stepping in to help Riverview after its own police department “dissolved.” County Police spokeswoman Vera Clay said in a separate statement that the department would take over emergency response for Riverview “until further notice.”
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But interim Riverview police Chief Brandin Neil told the Post-Dispatch the city had only temporarily disbanded its police department to a “financial crisis.” The city has a tight budget and faces several lawsuits, he said.
The Board of Aldermen voted Thursday night to furloughed Neil and the 12 other officers for three months, he said. He said he hopes to call officers back to work sooner than that, he said.
Mayor Pro Tem Kenjit Avent did not respond to Post-Dispatch requests for comment Friday. City hall, which houses the police station, was closed Friday.
The uncertainty over the Riverview Police Department’s future is the latest sign of turmoil in the suburb since Mayor Mike Cornell was arrested in January on nine felony charges for sexual abuse, harassment and possession of child pornography.
Cornell, mayor since 2023, was the subject of a Nov. 2 Post-Dispatch report detailing allegations he abused his public office to enrich himself, sexually harass employees and retaliate against his critics over the past three years. Cornell was also accused of impersonating a police officer and repeatedly interfering with the police department by giving officers orders without consulting the chief.
Cornell is in custody awaiting trial on accusations he sexually abused two minors and a man and sexually harassed a fourth victim over the the course of 10 years. He is being held on a $1 million bond.
The mayor was not the only Riverview official to face criminal charges this year.
In April, then-Alderwoman Ruth Phillips was charged with misdemeanor assault for attacking someone with a lawn chair during a fight. Phillips lost her reelection bid that month. She pleaded guilty to the charge in July.
Riverview also faces at least six active lawsuits that accuse Cornell of misconduct.
One of the lawsuits also accuses Neil, the interim police chief, of injuring a woman while arresting her at a public meeting in an incident captured on video.
Ex-alderwoman Regina Davis claimed in a lawsuit that Neil, then a police officer, “violently and unjustifiably” assaulted her during a town hall in February of 2025. Davis was arrested while trying to question Cornell about misconduct allegations against him.
Cornell accused Davis of disrupting the meeting, and the city charged her with felony resisting arrest and assault for allegedly striking Neil and biting his hand. St. Louis County prosecutors dismissed the charges, citing a lack of evidence.
Neil is at least the seventh person hired to be the city’s top cop in the last three years.
Before he was hired in Riverview, he was accused of assault at least twice as a St. Louis police officer.
In May 2019 , he was the subject of an internal affairs investigation following an incident at Wheelhouse, a bar in downtown St. Louis . A couple at the bar said Neil shoved the man, spilled his beer and then tackled them both. Neil was not charged.
In August 2019 , he was charged with assaulting a man at a convenience store while making an arrest off duty, hitting the man in the face with handcuffs and then tackling him. A judge later ruled he used an appropriate amount of force and acquitted him.
Riverview is the latest north St. Louis County suburb to move to dissolve its police department citing financial or other concerns. Those cities contracted such services with a nearby municipality, with the North County Police Cooperative or with St. Louis County police.
That includes Calverton Park, Velda City, and Bel-Nor, which each shuttered police departments in 2024. Calverton Park and Bel-Nor each cited financial woes from rising police budgets and declining tax revenues.
Velda City shut down after three officers and its chief resigned. Chief Daniel Paulino , also the city administrator, later pleaded guilty to stealing more than $300,000 in taxpayer money from the city. Paulino continued to work for the City of Hillsdale while awaiting sentencing, the Post-Dispatch reported in April.
In recent years, Charlack, Pine Lawn , and Kinloch also closed their police departments.
St. Louis County Police said Riverview residents should continue to call 911 as normal and that county police will respond.
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