“Where are the St. Louis County Police officers who are paid to patrol the MetroLink platforms in St. Louis County? They are hiding in darkened, cavelike offices, out-of-sight and underneath the train platforms. I decided to investigate and, on June 5, 2017, at approximately 6:20 p.m., I got off the train and opened the door to the police substation underneath the Clayton Metro platform. There were four St. Louis County Police officers. Doing nothing. In the dark.”

It’s not just Metro public safety officers and residents who are complaining, either.

In March, in an email to several colleagues, St. Louis Deputy Chief Ronnie Robinson raised the issue.

“We all know resources are not being used to its full potential and I want to apply pressure on County to do a better job,” Robinson wrote. “With the recent homicide I believe we can point out their lack of consistency of riding trains. … Until there is more buy in from the county the pressure has to come from the chiefs to affect change.”

St. Louis County Police spokesman Sgt. Shawn McGuire declined to make either Chief Jon Belmar or Melies available for an interview.