Board to Vote on Interim Counsel Pick Wednesday
St. Louis police board will consider Erika Zaza as interim general counsel after Chris Graville's resignation.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Law Enforcement
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The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners will vote Wednesday, November 4, 2026, on appointing Erika Zaza as interim general counsel. The proposal follows the resignation of general counsel Chris Graville about a week and a half before the vote.
Why it matters
Graville said his resignation was in the board's best interest because his legal advice had become the subject of political controversy. The move comes after Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe called for an investigation into a possible Sunshine Law violation tied to a closed-door meeting on St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy's six-figure raise.
Graville billed the board $1.2 million across his 18 months representing it, and Zaza, who has been with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department since 2020, would fill the role on an interim basis. The board's vote and the Sunshine Law inquiry remain unresolved.
The players
Erika Zaza
Zaza is a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department attorney who established the department's Sunshine Law Unit and has served as its legal director since joining in 2020.
Chris Graville
Graville was the general counsel to the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners, resigning about a week and a half before the vote after his legal advice drew political controversy.
Mike Kehoe
Kehoe is the Governor of Missouri who called for an investigation into a possible Sunshine Law violation involving the St. Louis police chief's raise.
Robert Tracy
Tracy is the St. Louis Police Chief whose six-figure raise was discussed in a closed-door meeting now under scrutiny for a possible Sunshine Law violation.
The details
Zaza established the department's Sunshine Law Unit and served as its legal director before the proposed appointment. Before joining SLMPD, she was with the St. Louis City Counselor's Office for 14 years.
Timeline
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: Board of Police Commissioners votes on appointing Erika Zaza as interim general counsel.
Legal Context
The proposed interim appointment and Graville's resignation arrive as Missouri's Sunshine Law, which requires public government meetings absent a closed-session exception, is being tested by a governor-requested investigation. The inquiry centers on whether a closed-door discussion of the police chief's raise fell outside those exceptions.
Residents of St. Louis have a direct stake in how the police board handles its legal oversight, since the board governs the city's police department. The outcome of the vote and the Sunshine Law review will shape how openly future police-related decisions are made in the city.
The takeaway
Public access to government deliberations depends on whether closed-door discussions of public business stay within the law's exceptions. Readers following St. Louis policing decisions can track the board's Wednesday vote and any Sunshine Law findings as they are released.
What happens next
The Board of Police Commissioners is scheduled to vote on the interim general counsel appointment Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
Further reading
For more on police governance, see Law Enforcement coverage across St. Louis.
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