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St. Louis County Deceived Public About Jail Death, Lawsuit Says | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

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click to enlarge Mark Pedroli A still from county jail surveillance showing Jo’Von Mitchell struggling to stand prior to his death.
A man whose brother died in St. Louis County Jail custody in the final days of 2019 has filed a lawsuit in which he accuses jail staff of negligence and county officials of deceiving the public about the circumstances of his brother’s death. Juan Mitchell’s lawsuit claims that despite the jail staff acting with “deliberate indifference” in the days leading up to the December 27, 2019, death of his brother Jo’von Mitchell, official communications from the county praised jail personnel for their handling of Jo’von’s medical emergency. In the days prior to Mitchell’s death, the suit says the 31 year old had difficulty standing and suffered nausea, dizziness and an intense throbbing headache. His speech began to slur. On December 24, three detainees told corrections officers that Mitchell was in such duress that he couldn’t eat, dress himself or even stand up. A physician assistant ordered Mitchell be given an antihistamine, but the lawsuit says Mitchell was not taken to the jail’s infirmary. In the early hours of Christmas Day, after Mitchell’s cellmate pleaded with staff for medical assistance, a jail nurse saw Mitchell, but he was “summarily dismissed” from the nurse’s care. Mitchell was soon seen by a second nurse, the suit says, but despite not being able to walk, he was sent back to his cell. At a quarter after five on Christmas evening, a corrections officer discovered Mitchell passed out on his cell floor. The lawsuit accuses the officer of continuing to make his rounds, even chatting with another detainee before alerting medical personnel. When medical personnel attempted to clear Mitchell’s airway, the infirmary’s suction equipment malfunctioned. Then the nurse attempted revive Mitchell with a rebreather, but the oxygen tank it was attached to was either empty or malfunctioned, the suit says. EMS arrived around 5:30 p.m. and Mitchell was taken to St. Mary’s hospital, where he died two days later. The lawsuit goes on to claim that press releases sent out by St. Louis County in the wake of Mitchell’s death were deceitful and concealed key details about Mitchell’s final hours in the jail. One county press release “congratulated” jail staff on their treatment of Mitchell, the suit says. A press release stated that a “corrections officer observed the person becoming unconscious” and “immediately involved the jail’s medical staff.” A press release sent out after Mitchell was sent to the hospital but before he died says that corrections and jail medical staff worked “cooperatively, professionally and with a sense of urgency.”
However, the jail’s own Internal Affairs report states that, “the officer responded without a sense of urgency to a medical emergency and falsified his report to reflect that he did.” St. Louis County spokesman Doug Moore told the RFT the county had no comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit suggests that the county was motivated by “intense political and media scrutiny” which the jail was under because four detainees had died in custody there in 2019 prior to Mitchell. “The family of Mr. Mitchell seek the truth, but unfortunately too often, their own government stands in the way,” Juan Mitchell’s attorney, Mark Pedroli, tells the RFT. An autopsy performed on Jo’Von found that he had suffered a stroke. Medical professionals say that when treating a stoke, a quick response is key and medication needs to be administered within a few hours of the stroke’s onset. Mitchell was in jail on a slew of charges stemming from a 2016 stand off he engaged in with police in north St. Louis County’s Castle Point neighborhood. The lawsuit was filed on Christmas Day 2022, a few days prior to the three-year anniversary of Mitchell’s death.
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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

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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

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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

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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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