ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – The state senator opposing legislation to grant local control of the St. Louis Police Department is suffering from mental problems and should step-down.

Those are the most recent attacks in the increasingly scandalous war of words between a coalition of local St. Louis leaders and University City-area State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who has pledged to kill the local control bill over concerns that it could lead to city aldermen gutting the police pension plan to defray budget shortfalls.

But Chappelle-Nadal’s rhetoric turned decidedly ugly — and some say racist — during an interview on radio station WGNU.

On the air, Chappelle-Nadal called St. Louis leaders in favor of local control “house slaves” following the lead of their “plantation owner,” Missouri billionaire Rex Sinquefield, who is helping to organize political support in Jefferson City.

Those comments on WGNU now have two prominent local African American political leaders speaking out against her.

State Representative Jamillah Nasheed – who sponsored the local control legislation in the Missouri House – did not mince words. “You know, I think that she is mentally unstable,” Nasheed said. “It was just really unfortunate that she had to take it to that level of racism. She needs to seek some help.”

And from St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed, a statement saying that Chappelle-Nadal should quit.

Police control was taken away in 1861, by pro-slavery lawmakers in Jefferson City, who wanted to make sure that Union supporters in St. Louis would not be able to make trouble for Confederate sympathizers or turn the weapons in the city’s armory against them.

(Copyright KMOX)