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Deputy Alleges Sheriff Vernon Betts Retaliated – And Went After His Beard | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

August 9, 2023

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click to enlarge DOYLE MURPHY St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts.

St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts allegedly told a bearded deputy he would have to shave — but now it’s Betts who might get nicked.

Deputy Joseph Mopkins, who has been with the department since 1994, testified yesterday in court that for years, he never got any hassle from his bosses about having a beard. He said that he has pseudofolliculitis barbae, a condition that causes his skin to be irritated when he shaves. Though the Sheriff’s Department’s employee handbook doesn’t allow for beards, Mopkins said he was given an exception for decades.

It’s what happened to change that situation that is now at issue in St. Louis Circuit Court, where Mopkins is suing Betts for retaliation.Questioned by his attorney, Matt Ghio (who wears a beard and says he has for years), Mopkins testified that for the first two years after Betts took office as sheriff in 2017, he was allowed to keep the beard as usual. However, things changed in January 2019 when the deputy received a subpoena to sit for a deposition in another deputy’s discrimination complaint. Mopkins testified that Betts told him not to appear for the deposition, telling him “to stay out of it.”

Mopkins interpreted this as Betts asking him to ignore the subpoena, which is against the law.

“I’m old school,” Mopkins said. “If you don’t show up for jury duty or a deposition, you get in trouble for that.”

Mopkins appeared for the deposition. The very next day, he testified, he was told by a lieutenant that if he wanted to keep his beard he needed to provide an updated doctor’s note, and that the note needed to be updated monthly from now on.

Mopkins said that even though the order was conveyed to him through a lieutenant, he knew it originated from Betts.

Mopkins testified when he confronted Betts, Betts got “irate.”

Later, at roll call, Betts bent over a table in front of the assembled deputies, looked at Mopkins and said, “Do you think that you can fuck me?” He added, “You’re not getting shit.”

Subsequently, Mopkins said he watched as less-qualified and shorter-tenured deputies were made sergeants, even as Mopkins was passed over. Mopkins’ employee evaluations, which for the most part identified him as an employee who was “exceeding standards,” were entered into evidence in the suit. Mopkins testified he lost $30,000 as part of the retaliation against him.

Under cross examination by the city’s attorney, Andrew Wheaton (no beard), Mopkins said that under the previous sheriff, Jim Murphy, a captain had asked him to provide an updated doctor’s note, though Mopkins said the previous sheriff never gave him any trouble about his facial hair.

Mopkins also testified that Betts’ brother, Howard, who works for the department, wears a goatee.

Mopkins’ testimony lasted for the majority of the afternoon. The trial began Monday and is expected to wrap up today. The city attorneys representing Betts have sought to highlight interpersonal conflict Mopkins had with other deputies as well as blemishes on Mopkins’ record, at one point alleging that he lost his badge three times during his almost 30-year career.

At one point in his time as a deputy, Mopkins said that he did ask a coworker to stop telling racist jokes. The coworker subsequently hid Mopkins’ chair outside by a dumpster.

About the times Mopkins lost his deputy badge, he said that in one instance it was quickly recovered and on another occasion he lost it while going through hospital security to attend to a dire family emergency. The third time he lost his badge, he said, was during department nun-chuck training.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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