Editing St. Charles County, Missouri (section)

==Government==
St. Charles County is governed by a county executive and a county council. The county council consists of seven members, each elected from various districts in the county. The county executive is elected by the entire county. The current executive is Steve Ehlmann. He was preceded by Joe Ortwerth, who was preceded by Gene Schwendemann, the first county executive of St. Charles County under the new form of government. The executive under the old form of county government was termed a "judge." The county had 258,525 registered voters as of March 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sccmo.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2889|title=Presidential Preference Primary, March 15, 2016, St. Charles County Missouri|publisher=St. Charles County Election Authority|date=March 22, 2016|access-date=March 30, 2016}}</ref>

St. Charles County Ambulance District (SCCAD) is the largest such district in Missouri, serving all of St. Charles County and its population of nearly 370,000.

=== Law enforcement ===
The St. Charles County Sheriff's Department (SCCSD) is responsible for court services and security, prisoner transport, [[Service of process|civil process]], and [[bailiff]]s. Until the end of 2014, SCCSD was the primary law enforcement agency serving unincorporated areas of St. Charles County. On January 1, 2015, the St. Charles County Police Department was established and assumed that responsibility.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schlinkmann|first1=Mark|title=New St. Charles County police department begins operations Thursday|url=http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/new-st-charles-county-police-department-begins-operations-thursday/article_fb96a9f7-854a-5715-8ccc-474c1e9fa7f2.html|access-date=June 28, 2017|work=STLtoday.com|date=December 30, 2014}}</ref> It should not be confused with the [[St. Charles City Police Department]]. The St. Charles County Regional [[SWAT]] Team is made up of officers from each county law enforcement agency.

The SCCPD Aviation Unit is part of a multi-jurisdictional unit known as the Metro Air Support Unit, with the [[Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis]]; [[St. Louis County Police Department]]; and St. Charles County Police Department.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://metroairsupport.org/ |website=Metro Air Support Unit |title=Metro Air Support Unit of St. Louis, Missouri |access-date=January 10, 2025}}</ref> As of 2024, the fleet included five helicopters,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://slmpd.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CommissionersCorrespondence-August2024.pdf |title=Celebrating two decades of Metro Air Support, and taking advantage of community engagement opportunities |date=August 2024 |website=St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department |department=Commissioner's Correspondence |access-date=January 10, 2025}}</ref> and twelve pilots or pilots in training.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

In May 2022, Ryan Keuhner, who was then an SCCSD deputy, shot and killed his neighbor's 3-year-old rescue dog with a [[pellet (air gun)|pellet]] gun. The shooting was reportedly unprovoked and Keuhner was off duty at the time. Video of the dog's owner confronting Keuhner was uploaded online, and later gained national coverage. Keuhner resigned in June 2022 and was charged with a class A [[misdemeanor]] for animal abuse.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 27, 2022 |title=St. Charles County Sheriff's Deputy charged after pellet gun death of neighbor's dog |url=https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/st-charles-county-sheriff-deputy-charged-pellet-gun-death-neighbors-dog/63-9883476d-bdd2-4670-9814-a9aed0284fe1 |access-date=April 30, 2023 |work=[[KSDK]] |language=en-US |first=Christine |last=Byers }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/ex-st-charles-county-sheriff-s-deputy-faces-misdemeanor-charge-in-dog-s-death/article_63636aa2-669e-56b2-83d6-4e975e7ab3cf.html |title=Ex-St. Charles County sheriff's deputy faces misdemeanor charge in dog's death |date=July 3, 2022 |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |first=Taylor Tiamoyo |last=Harris |access-date=May 1, 2023 }}</ref>

=== Library resolution ===
In 2023, the county council issued a resolution aimed at library policies and staff online activities. The resolution followed protests and comments at council meetings from residents who complained about a staff member wearing [[gender non-conforming]] clothes. Within the resolution, the council asked the library CEO to remove an article they shared on their personal [[LinkedIn]] profile related to conservative campaigns targeting public libraries and [[freedom of speech]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hanshaw |first=Annelise |date=August 15, 2023 |title=Community uproar leads St. Charles County to admonish library to be 'non-political' |url=https://missouriindependent.com/2023/08/15/community-uproar-leads-st-charles-county-to-admonish-library-to-be-non-political/ |access-date=August 16, 2023 |website=Missouri Independent |language=en-US}}</ref>