Missouri Police Chief: Licensing, Authority, and Removal

A Missouri police chief is a licensed peace officer appointed under state statute to lead a municipal police department, with duties, authority, and removal protections that vary by the city’s classification but are floored by state law. Every chief must hold an active peace officer license, complete a required chief-of-police training course, and can only be removed by the governing body for one of six specific just-cause grounds after a formal hearing.

Licensing and Required Training

No one can serve as a commissioned peace officer in Missouri without a valid peace officer license. The director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety sets the minimum age, citizenship, and education requirements, and the POST commission establishes the continuing education every licensed officer must complete to keep the license active.¹ Falling behind on training or failing to keep a current address on file with the director can put that license at risk.

Any chief appointed on or after August 28, 2023, must also complete a POST-certified chief of police training course of at least 40 hours within six months of taking office. If the chief misses that deadline, the agency loses eligibility for POST commission training funds, state grant funds, and federal grant funds until the requirement is met.²

Two exemptions exist. A chief can be excused from the course by showing completion of the FBI National Academy or an equivalent program within the previous ten years, or by demonstrating at least five years of experience as a police chief in a Missouri law enforcement agency.²

Residency Is Not Required by State Law

Elected city officers in Missouri generally must live in the city they serve, but the statute exempts appointed officers. Because chiefs are almost always appointed, state law does not require them to live inside the municipality. A city may still impose its own residency rule by ordinance or charter. One blanket disqualification does apply to any officer: nobody who is behind on city taxes or who has an outstanding forfeiture or defalcation in office can hold the position.³

Authority Depends on the City’s Classification

Missouri sorts municipalities into classes, and each class draws its police chief’s powers from a different chapter of the Revised Statutes. The chief’s formal title, reporting chain, and scope of authority all follow from that classification.

Third Class Cities

In a third class city that has not adopted the merit system police department, the city marshal serves as the chief of police.⁴ Every officer in the department is a conservator of the peace with authority to make arrests under proper process for violations of city ordinances or state law and to serve warrants, subpoenas, and other municipal court process within the county.⁵

The city council sets by ordinance how the assistant marshal and other officers are appointed, and the council can remove a marshal, assistant marshal, or officer for misbehavior in office. The statute is explicit, though, that this removal authority does not reach a chief as defined by RSMo 106.273, the just-cause statute discussed below.⁴

Fourth Class Cities

Fourth class cities also let the marshal act as the chief of police, with power to arrest offenders under proper process and hold them in the city prison until trial unless they post bond.⁶ A fourth class city may instead provide by ordinance for the appointment of a separate chief of police who performs all the duties the marshal would otherwise carry.⁷

Cities With a Board of Police Commissioners

Larger cities operating under Chapter 84 have a board of police commissioners that appoints the chief.⁸ The chief is the department’s executive officer, responsible to the board for the administration of police affairs and the suppression of crime.⁹ Civilian oversight sits with the board rather than with a mayor or council, which produces a very different reporting chain from what smaller municipalities use.

How Chiefs Are Appointed

The mechanics of hiring depend on the city’s structure. In fourth class cities, the board of aldermen may provide for the appointment of a chief and additional officers by ordinance, after majority voter approval at an election.⁷ Third class cities similarly set their appointment procedures locally. State law hands the selection details to each city’s governing body rather than laying out a single statewide process.

In council-manager cities, the city manager typically hires the chief directly, and the chief reports to the manager. Charter cities have the widest latitude because their charters can set whatever appointment mechanism the voters have approved. Once selected, every chief must take and subscribe the oath of office required by the Missouri Constitution, swearing to support the U.S. and Missouri constitutions and to faithfully perform the duties of the office.¹⁰

Removal Requires Just Cause

A Missouri police chief is not an at-will employee. The ordinary rule that lets a mayor remove an appointive officer with aldermanic consent does not apply to a chief covered by RSMo 106.273.¹¹ Removal requires just cause, formal notice, a hearing, and a supermajority vote.

The Six Grounds

State law lists six grounds that qualify as just cause. At least one must be established before removal can proceed.

Inability to perform duties with reasonable competence or safety due to a mental condition, including alcohol or substance abuse.
An act during the performance of duties showing reckless disregard for public safety or the safety of another officer.
Causing a material fact to be misrepresented for an improper or unlawful purpose.
Acting solely to further personal self-interest or in a manner inconsistent with the interests of the public or the governing body.
Being found to have violated a law that constitutes a felony.
Insubordination or violation of a written established policy, except that a refusal to violate federal, state, or local law does not count as insubordination.¹²

That last carveout matters. A chief who declines to follow a policy because complying would break the law cannot be fired for insubordination, which blocks a governing body from using a manufactured policy violation as pretext.

Notice, Hearing, and Vote

The governing body must give the chief written notice at least ten business days before the removal meeting. The notice has to state the specific charges, the facts supporting them, and the date, time, and location of the hearing. At the hearing, the chief may appear, bring witnesses, present evidence, and be represented by counsel. Removal then requires a two-thirds majority vote of the governing body. A simple majority is not enough. If the vote passes, the body must issue a written notice of the grounds within fourteen calendar days.¹²

The Officer Bill of Rights Does Not Cover the Chief

Missouri’s administrative investigation protections for law enforcement officers under RSMo 590.502 do not reach the chief. The statute expressly excludes the highest ranking officer in the agency from its definition of “law enforcement officer.”¹³ A chief’s due process protections come entirely from RSMo 106.273’s just-cause and hearing requirements, not from the internal investigation safeguards that apply to rank-and-file officers.

Civil Liability Exposure

Missouri keeps sovereign immunity for its public entities but waives it in two situations that touch policing. A municipality can be held liable for compensatory damages when injuries result from a public employee’s negligent operation of a motor vehicle within the scope of employment, and when injuries are caused by a dangerous condition of public property the entity knew or should have known about in time to protect against.¹⁴ Both waivers apply whether the function was governmental or proprietary.

The state also preserves official immunity, which shields public officers from personal liability for negligent acts tied to discretionary duties performed within the scope of their authority. The public duty doctrine adds that officers are not liable in tort for a breach of duty owed to the general public rather than to a specific individual.¹⁴ For a chief, that means policy-level choices about deployment and enforcement priorities generally get stronger protection than operational decisions that place a specific person at risk.

Compensation

Police chief pay in Missouri swings widely with department size and local budget. As of mid-2026, reported salaries run from about $46,000 in the smallest departments to nearly $200,000 in larger municipalities, with a statewide average near $125,000. The middle half of chiefs earn roughly $94,000 to $155,000 a year. The gap reflects the distance between a small fourth class city where the marshal doubles as chief and a larger municipality running a full-service department. Compensation is set locally by ordinance or contract, and the governing body’s budget sets the ceiling.

1
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 590.030 – Peace Officer License, Qualifications, Continuing Education
2
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 590.033 – Chief of Police Training Course, POST Commission to Establish Minimum Standards
3
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 79.250 – Officers to Be Voters and Residents, Exceptions, Appointed Officers
4
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 85.551 – Marshal to Be Chief of Police Where Department Not Adopted
5
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 85.561 – Police Officers, Conservators of Peace, Supervision, Powers and Duties
6
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 85.610 – Marshal, Powers
7
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 79.050 – Elective Officers, Terms, Chief of Police or Marshal, Qualification
8
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 84.480 – Chief of Police, Appointment, Qualifications, Compensation
9
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 84.500 – Chief of Police, Powers and Duties
10
Justia. Missouri Constitution Article VII Section 11 – Oath of Office
11
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 79.240 – Removal of Officers
12
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 106.273 – Removal of Chief Law Enforcement Officer, When
13
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 590.502 – Administrative Investigation or Questioning of Law Enforcement Officer
14
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 537.600 – Sovereign Immunity in Effect, Exceptions