RIVERVIEW, MO — St. Louis County is now handling police calls in Riverview after the suburb’s entire department was furloughed, county officials said Thursday. County Executive Sam Page said the county was stepping in after Riverview’s police department effectively dissolved, and county police said they will respond to emergency calls there until further notice.

Interim Police Chief Brandin Neil gave a different explanation, telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the city had temporarily disbanded the department because of a financial crisis. He said the town’s budget is tight and that several lawsuits are hanging over city government. The Board of Aldermen voted Thursday night to furlough Neil and the department’s 12 other officers for three months, though he said he hoped some could return sooner.

County police tell Riverview residents to keep calling 911

St. Louis County Police said Riverview residents should continue to use 911 as they normally would. County officers will answer those calls and provide emergency response for the suburb while the local department is off duty.

The change leaves Riverview without its own active police force for now. City hall, which also houses the police station, was closed Friday, adding to the uncertainty around how the suburb will operate in the short term. Mayor Pro Tem Kenjit Avent did not respond to requests for comment.

The county’s takeover appears to be a stopgap rather than a permanent shift, but officials have not said what the long-term arrangement will be. For now, county police are the public safety backstop for the north St. Louis County community.

A suburb already shaken by the mayor’s arrest and multiple criminal cases

The police furlough comes against the backdrop of a wider political and legal crisis in Riverview. Mayor Mike Cornell was arrested in January on nine felony charges, including sexual abuse, harassment and possession of child pornography, according to earlier court records and reporting cited by the Post-Dispatch.

Cornell, who has been mayor since 2023, is in custody awaiting trial on accusations that he sexually abused two minors and a man and sexually harassed a fourth victim over 10 years. He is being held on a $1 million bond.

The mayor was also the subject of an earlier Post-Dispatch report that detailed allegations of public-office abuse, retaliation against critics and repeated interference with police operations. Those allegations are separate from the criminal case but add to the instability around city government.

Court fights, public complaints and charges against a former alderwoman

Riverview is also facing at least six active lawsuits accusing Cornell of misconduct. One of those cases also targets Neil, the interim police chief, and claims he injured a woman during an arrest at a public meeting in an incident captured on video.

Former alderwoman Regina Davis has separately accused Neil, then a police officer, of violently and unjustifiably assaulting her during a February 2025 town hall. Davis was arrested while trying to question Cornell about misconduct allegations.

Cornell said Davis was 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 later dismissed those charges, citing a lack of evidence. The legal disputes have left city leadership under steady pressure for months.

Neil is the city’s seventh top cop in three years

Neil is at least the seventh person hired to lead Riverview’s police department in the past three years. Before taking the job there, he had already faced assault-related accusations while serving with the St. Louis Police Department.

In 2019, he was the subject of an internal affairs review after a dispute at Wheelhouse, a downtown St. Louis bar. A couple said Neil shoved the man, spilled his beer and tackled both of them, though he was not charged.

Later that year, Neil was charged with assault in an off-duty arrest at a convenience store. Prosecutors said he hit a man in the face with handcuffs and tackled him, but a judge later ruled he used appropriate force and acquitted him.

Riverview joins a growing list of north county cities that shut down police departments

Riverview is the latest north St. Louis County suburb to shut down or dissolve its police department over financial or staffing concerns. In several cases, those cities turned to nearby municipalities, the North County Police Cooperative or St. Louis County police for coverage.

Calverton Park, Velda City and Bel-Nor each shuttered their departments in 2024. Calverton Park and Bel-Nor pointed to rising police costs and falling tax revenue. Velda City closed after three officers and its chief resigned.

Former Velda City Chief Daniel Paulino, who also served as city administrator, later pleaded guilty to stealing more than $300,000 in taxpayer money. Other suburbs, including Charlack, Pine Lawn and Kinloch, have also closed their police departments in recent years.

Local news that matters, from Dulaney Griffin.