By Antonio D. French
Filed Thursday, July 19, 2007 at 2:34 PM
Labels: Crime
The daughter of St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa remains behind bars at the Warren County Jail today, charged with stealing a credit card, possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child.
According to the Post-Dispatch, Aimie Mokwa was found in her Warrenton hotel room with a "smoking device that tested positive for cocaine," marijuana, different kinds of prescription medications, and her 9-year-old daughter.
Chief Mokwa called his daughter "troubled" and said he has taken custody of his granddaughter.
29 Comments:
Those cops sure know how to party !
7/19/2007 3:08 PM
These things do happen to even the best of us. I hope that Joe's daughter is able to overcome her drug problem.
7/19/2007 3:27 PM
This is an embarrassment to the City of St. Louis Police Department and it is very dissappointing that the St. Louis Post Dispatch would post this photograph along with Pub Def.
This is the St. Louis Police Department's daughter for God's sake, no diplomatic courtesy afforded by these journalist in St. Louis for the Police Chief.
What if this was your daughter, and she could not kick a drug habit? Would you want to see her on the cover of newspapers and websites like this? Don't come back with that BS, I don't make the news-I'm just reporting the news.
May God bless Chief Joe Mokwa's family to make it through this obvious traumatic situation and special blessings for this woman's daughter who has seen too much.
7/19/2007 4:38 PM
I agree with the previous blogger 100%, this is the daughter of the St. Louis Police Department. If anything happens to one of the children on the St. Louis Police Department, then it happens to all the daughters of officers on the St. Louis Police Department. The St. Louis Police Department is a family, one for all and all for one. The Men in Blue, St. Louis' finest.
God bless the St. Louis Police Department and Chief Joe Mokwa's family.
7/19/2007 4:42 PM
Cops are no different than anybody else. They're human. Look at the ones who stole the World Series tickets. Mokwa is handling this fine. "She's troubled" he said. That's the bottom line.
7/19/2007 4:55 PM
"This is the St. Louis Police Department's daughter for God's sake..."
The bate and switch "patriotism" is crap. If you break the Law you are fair game for the press.
It is called punishment for bad behavior.
To many politicians and community leaders get the "diplomatic courtesy" and the people they represent get screwed
7/19/2007 5:22 PM
I agree with Jason. The younger Mokwa should be treated like any other criminal, and not get special deference or "diplomatic courtesy." I'm sure Glenn Campbell, Nick Nolte and other celebrities would have liked the same "diplomatic courtesy" and didn't get it. Why should someone with a powerful and influential father be any different?
Chief Mokwa, by his actions and statements, appears to understand this. Unlike certain anonymous posters above, the chief is handling this unfortunate incident with dignity and class.
7/19/2007 6:19 PM
Oracle, this woman was not treated like any other criminal. For example, I seriously doubt that Anthony would have posted this story & picture if her name had been Aimee Smith and her dad worked at Doe Run. Special, favorable treatment would be inappropriate. Schadenfreude is bad too. Whatever problems any of us have with the police or even with Chief Mokwa, seeming to enjoy his troubles is bad form.
7/19/2007 6:34 PM
Al Gore's son recently ran amok with the law and drugs and alcohol too. It can happen to any parent. You do your best and try not to be negligent. But the pressures on young people are great and they must accept the consequences for their actions regardless of who they are or who their parents are. A Kennedy thought he could rape a girl and get away with it. He didn't, did he? And doesn't Bush's Jenna have problems?
7/19/2007 6:44 PM
Is she a crackhead ,meth head or both? If the police chief was black or if Fire Chief Sherman George had a child that was arrested like Mokwa's daughter,KSDK's biased reporter (anti-black) would do an ambush interview of the black leader and try to assasinate his character because of their child's criminal behavior!White folks would call for the resignation of the black leader,why aren't white folks calling for the resignation of Mokwa?
7/19/2007 7:30 PM
Neither I nor anyone else posting here said anything suggesting we enjoy the problems of the Mokwa family. In particular, my post gave the chief credit for his handling of the unfortunate incident.
You know you've gotten old when you refer to people in their 30s as "young people."
The Kennedy rape reference is a little ambiguous, but William Kennedy Smith DID get away with rape.
7/19/2007 7:32 PM
Get real. White folks would NOT be calling on a black official to resign because of alleged criminal activity of a child. If the leader, black or white, was involved in that crime or abused her/his office to get favorable treatment for the child, that would be a different story, but that apparently didn't happen here.
If the KSDK reference was to Mike Owens, be advised that Owens is an equal-opportunity asshole. He might chose his ambush interview targets based on how they affect the political fortunes of wife Lyda Krewson, but the criteria are not primarily based on race.
7/19/2007 7:41 PM
Oracle said "I'm sure Glenn Campbell, Nick Nolte and other celebrities would have liked the same "diplomatic courtesy"".
Diffence is Oracle, Aimee Mokwa is not a celbrity. She did not choose to be the Chief's daighter. If this was the chief, diffrent story, but it's not. I didn't even know the chief had a daughter, unfortunatly now I do.
7/19/2007 7:47 PM
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7/19/2007 10:44 PM
This is very sad. The Mokwa family is in my prayers.
This should have remained a private matter and her picture should have never been published.
7/19/2007 10:48 PM
Of course she is subject to the law but this does not reflect upon the SLPD.
7/19/2007 10:51 PM
I wonder if it was Fire Cheif Sherman George's daughter whose very unflattering picture was posted in the paper and on this web site would people's reaction be the same. I think not. I am sure that if it were Chief George's daughter, many of those who expressed great empathy for Chief Mokwa would not afford Chief George the same care and concern.
As a parent, I think it is sad when anyone's child is caught up in destructive behavior. It is difficult and hurtful for the whole family. However, I would like to see some of the same people who posted blogs showing support for Chief Mokwa coming on this website and showing support when it is a Black official's child who has done something negative.
7/19/2007 10:58 PM
CWEGuy, why is hers a "private matter" but the crimes of the young black you see at the beginning of almost every nightly newscast a public matter? They have families too.
7/20/2007 2:19 AM
b-Real,
These are low-grade crimes that do not merit a picture in the paper...twice! This story was published to embarrass a good man.
Being arrested for drug use is quite a bit different than a drive-by shooting.
It is the crime that gets to be the lead story--not the race of the criminal.
Why does race even matter here? Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...
7/20/2007 6:29 AM
the chief did what any grandparent would do, he took charge of his Grand child. Thousands of families in St Louis have done this on a regular basis. However, in St. Louis the conditions created by the board of Alderman and the poor performace of the building division have created a dangerous situation for all families of North St. Louis and other targeted areas of the city.
7/20/2007 6:34 AM
This picture is incredibly sad. This was a lovely young woman, utterly ruined and destroyed by drug abuse and its lifestyle. Chief Mokwa's father's heart must be completely torn out looking at this photo. His little girl. I can't imagine the pain of seeing my daughter this way--regardless of her age or her responsibility for it. Her photo could be a poster for what drugs can do to a person's life. I deeply hope and pray that there will be another photo down the road, showing what love, intervention and courage can do to change a life.
Too often those who run up against the law due to drug addiction do not find the help they need in the penal system to reorder their lives. Society tends to just throw people away who miss the mark. If only we could be honest about the fact that all of us miss the mark in many ways and approach one another with compassion and determination to reclaim what drugs have stolen from all of us.
Looking at the state this young woman is in, it seems obvious that she needs more than just a jail cell to pull her out of the hell her mind and emotions must be in. Incarceration is a start, but we must go further. Tragic as this case is, it could shed light on how we as a society deal with drug addiction and those who commit crimes as a result of its influence. Time served and back on the street just doesn't cut it. If we want to make an impact on drug-related crime, we must do more than just lock people up. We must make a better effort to redeem these lost lives.
7/20/2007 8:51 AM
"I wonder if it was Fire Cheif Sherman George's daughter whose very unflattering picture was posted in the paper and on this web site would people's reaction be the same. I think not."
Once again, an unnecessary and unkind racist statement. Somebody has so much hatred in his or her heart that colors everything he or she sees as racial.
On top of it all, this person is so judgmental of people he or she doesn't even know.
A very sad, embittered human being that poisons the well.
7/20/2007 10:01 AM
My prayers are with Chief Mokwa. In a way, it makes me support him a little more. It is obvious that he understands on a personal level the impact of drugs on the family and in the community as well as the embarrassment of having unfavorable pictures of those family members in the paper. I hope that it translates into more effective policing in drug enforcement particulary for those who are at the top of the drug chain in this city.
7/20/2007 1:55 PM
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
7/20/2007 6:38 PM
Stay the hell out of people's personal business no matter who they are.
7/20/2007 11:11 PM
"Once again, an unkind and racist remark".
It is not racist to mention how race plays a role in the difference between the way White people and people of color are treated under the law. If you can be honest with yourself, you have to admit that it is more likely that a Black man will be beaten mercilessly or riddled with bullets if he is arrested, while a White man will most probably be arrested, taken into custody and have his day in court.
When was the last time that you heard of a White man being shot maybe 25 times? If you don't respond to what I'm saying, be honest--you know that there is a difference in the way the law treats Black and White.
As far as hatred, I don't have time to hate somebody because they are White. That takes too much emotional energy, and hatred hurts the person who is letting it fester in them more than it hurts the person they hate. Hatred holds the person who harbors it prisoner. It takes away their peace and gives them ulcers.
I believe that the God of Heaven and Earth thought it was a good idea to make Black people and White people and every other color of people. He didn't expect us to all like all the same things or to agree on all the same things, but He wants us to respect each other, treat each other fairly and not to hate each other because of the color of our skin.
7/21/2007 12:04 AM
To Chief Mowka
And the families of anyone who has children caught up in Drug abuse. All you can do is pray. The media has there job so nothing is personal.When Major Paige son was killed in a drug deal. All was kept in a low key manner. Being a Recovering Addict. The Addict has to want to get clean. So just pray that Chief Mowka daughter,wants help. For Chief Mowka our prayers are with you.
7/21/2007 9:56 AM
If that is truly what you believe, then stop assuming people posting on this website would feel differently about Sherman's kids.
We don't get all the news, so it is impossible to determine who would have the most shots fired into them during a crime spree or suspicion of a crime.
Remember the white kids killed by a police officer because he thought they were backing their truck into him?
Some situations are so intense and unpredictable that someone will get hurt.
Suspects high on crack or meth (regardless of color) exhibit extraordinary strength that is difficult to subdue. Just look at how violent men become using steroids (once again regardless of race). Maybe we need police officers to tell their tales of blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, whatever, high on drugs and how an officer cannot reason with them or get control of them.
Suspects who halt when told to halt and cooperate with the police don't get beaten.
Just yesterday, a black neighbor's children's bikes were stolen by other blacks. Blacks broke the windshield to her car that she cannot afford to fix. Her white neighbors have sympathized with her and attempted to help her.
Yep, I still think your comments were racist (but then, racists can't see themselves for what they are--regardless of their skin color).
7/21/2007 10:01 AM
"If that's truly what you believe,...
I am sorry you feel that it is racist to mention the difference between the way that White and Black people are treated under the law. The truth is the truth.
You mentioned the incident where the White young men in a pick up truck were shot by the police officer. My heart goes out their families. However, consider this. In the last 3 to 5 years, when you hear about the police beating someone or unloading their service revolvers into a person's body, how many of those person's were White? I do understand that police officers have to make quick decisions, but they more often show retraint when they are dealing with a White person than with a Black person.
I am sure that you have seen videos where the person (sometimes White) are not fighting with the police and still they are tazerred or beaten. You may not want to accept it, but there are bad cops. They are human and subject to abusing their power just as well as anyone else. And just because you hear a story on the news saying that a person refused to halt when ordered, does not mean that that's the way it really happened.
I don't believe that all White people are racist, and I don't believe that all police officers are bad. I also don't believe that dealing with how race can make a difference in the way that people are treated is racist. It is reality.
I won't say anything more on the subject.
7/21/2007 4:41 PM
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