St. Louis mayor apologizes after airing names of demonstrators calling for police reform

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson (D) on Friday revealed the names and addresses of St. Louisans who had written to her demanding police reform.

The incident happened during a Facebook Live stream in which Krewson was giving a public briefing on COVID-19. Towards the end of her briefing, the mayor was asked about her meeting with protestors that were outside City Hall. During the interaction, Krewson said protestors gave her numerous letters asking for police reform and other policy changes.

Krewson, 66, then proceeded to read aloud the names and addresses of the people who had written the letters. At least 10 times, the mayor read aloud a protestor’s full name and address, according to the Riverfront Times.

The video remained posted for three hours until severe backlash from city residents forced Krewson to take it down.

In a subsequent Facebook post, Krewson apologized for her actions.

“I would like to apologize for identifying individuals who presented letters to me at City Hall as I was answering a routine question during one of my updates earlier today,” she said. “While this is public information, I did not intend to cause distress or harm to anyone. The post has been removed.”

All letters delivered to government officials become part of public record and can be accessed by anyone, though a public records request is usually needed to obtain them.

Shortly after her initial comments, a petition was started calling for Krewson’s resignation. It has garnered nearly 14,000 signatures.