#slmpd

Thank you to St. Louis Magazine for pointing out to me that one of the state-appointed board members who have taken over my city's police is no one other than ...

... one of the most egregious of the corrupt attorneys who caused the Ferguson Uprising. Arch City Defenders (who contributed to this news story) documented that Chris Graville was one of the attorneys who were trading tiny little county-suburb posts between each other, prosecutor and court clerk and judge all in one, washing each others' backs as part of a scheme to steal money from black people across north county. They reported this months before Michael Brown's murder. And weren't believed. Until it was too late.

Oh, my Ghod. I knew (or at least strongly suspected) that the state takeover was about rolling back the city PD reforms that were instituted by elected progressive governments in the wake of the Michael Brown and Jason Stockley murders. Even I wasn't cynical enough to notice that they put one of the conspirators on the board of that takeover.

Gloria Oladipo at The Guardian:

A Missouri judge awarded more than $23m to a former St Louis police officer who was beaten by other officers while working undercover at a protest in 2017.

On Monday Luther Hall was awarded the significant sum in a default judgment by Joseph Whyte, the St Louis circuit judge, after one of the defendants failed to respond to a lawsuit over the 2017 attack. “Mr Hall had to endure this severe beating and while that was happening, he knew it was being administered by his colleagues who were sworn to serve and protect,” Whyte said. Hall was severely injured by his own colleagues while undercover at a protest following the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white police officer who shot and killed 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith, a Black man. Hall was pinned to the ground by officers and beaten with a baton, suffering permanent injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, Buzzfeed News reported. Last year, the St Louis police department reopened an internal investigation into the incident, KSDK reported.

[...] Hall previously sued the city of St Louis in 2021 over the attack, later reaching a $5m settlement agreement. In 2022 Hall sued three former law enforcement colleagues for their roles in the assault: Randy Hays, Dustin Boone and Christopher Myers, who are all white.

025: SLMPD X 0121 Pop Up

Christopher Wiggins at The Advocate:

A Missouri gay bar owner is facing criminal charges after he got upset that a police officer crashed his cruiser into the establishment.

Late Sunday night, a St. Louis City police SUV crashed into Bar: PM, a well-known bar in the LGBTQ+ community located in the Carondelet neighborhood. The crash, which occurred around 12:30 a.m., sparked significant concern and multiple investigations, the Riverfront Times reported. According to eyewitness accounts and police reports, the police vehicle, with two officers on board, lost control, overcorrected, and ultimately collided with the bar. The officers reportedly did not sustain injuries. The exact details leading up to the crash remain under active investigation. James Pence, co-owner of Bar: PM, lives above the establishment, He said he was upstairs at the time of the crash and came down to find the police demanding identification. Upon his refusal, Pence was handcuffed but not arrested. Meanwhile, co-owner Chad Morris, also known as Chad Wick, was arrested and faces a felony assault charge on an officer and misdemeanor resisting arrest. Pence recounted being informed by an officer that the crash was an attempt to avoid a dog on the road, a claim met with skepticism by Pence. He urged those involved to “own it, tell me what happened, and fix the building,” according to the Riverfront Times.

According to police statements, Morris is accused of striking an officer in the chest and fleeing, which led to his charges. However, Morris' attorney, Javad Khazaeli, argues that multiple videos of the incident contradict the police's narrative. He asserts that Morris' arrest was unwarranted and hopes that the prosecuting attorney's office will dismiss the charges upon reviewing the evidence. One bystander video, viewed by the Riverfront Times, shows the aftermath of the crash, including Pence being handcuffed. The video does not show Morris assaulting an officer, as claimed by the police. Another video shows the police SUV swerving across the road before crashing into Bar: PM, the outlet reports. The driver, a 32-year-old probationary officer with less than a year on the force, reportedly swerved to avoid a parked car. The St. Louis Police probable cause statement, obtained by the Riverfront Times, alleges Morris began to “scream obscenities” after the crash and “struck [an officer] hard in the chest with an open hand,” causing the officer to lose balance. Morris is said to have then tried to flee the scene, resulting in the charges.

The SLMPD handled the Bar:PM crash horribly in which one of their SUVs crashed into the bar, as they ended up arresting one of the bar's co-owners. Bar:PM is an LGBTQ+ bar in St. Louis.

See Also:

St. Louis Officer in Serious Condition After Shooting: Chief

DANNY WICENTOWSKI In two incidents, a total of four St. Louis City police officers have been seriously injured this week. In an emotional press conference, St. Louis city police chief John Hayden said Wednesday that one of the two city officers shot today in Ferguson is in critical unstable condition after being shot in the abdomen. A second officer was hit in the leg. Outside Barnes Jewish…

Russell Kinsaul at KMOV:

ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) – The jury hearing the case of three St. Louis police officers accused of assaulting an undercover detective during a 2017 protest issued a partial verdict Monday afternoon.

Steven Korte, Christopher Myers and Dustin Boone were indicted on a charge of deprivation of rights under the color of law. Korte also faced a charge of lying to the FBI and Myers faced an additional charge of destroying evidence. Officers Baily Colletta and Randy Hays were also indicted but have pleaded guilty.

Monday, Korte was found not guilty on all counts, Myers was found not guilty on the charge of deprivation of rights, and had a mistrial declared on the charge of destroying evidence. Boone had a mistrial declared in regards to his charge of deprivation of rights. The jury deliberated for more than 13 hours.

[...]

Because the jury was hung on Myers' count of destroying evidence and Boone's charge of deprivation of rights, the government could at some point refile charges. Because Korte was found not guilty, he is free.  

KMOV: 

ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) -- The St. Louis Police Officers Association and Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner are publicly sparring Friday after the police union posted on Facebook attacking Gardner for prosecuting cops.

The original post, made Thursday, was accompanied by a photo of an individual who exchanged gunfire with two police officers outside of a bar in April.