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VIDEO: St. Louis Corrections Officers Mace Confined Detainees | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

July 28, 2023

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click to enlarge Arch City Defenders Screengrab of video released by Arch City Defenders. Newly released security video taken at the St. Louis city jail shows multiple instances of what critics say is the wanton use of mace on numerous detainees in the facility. In one instance shown on video, a detainee is seated at a bench in a common area, his head in his hand, when six corrections officers enter, two of whom immediately deploy mace. In another instance from the video, a corrections officer approaches a cell door and motions for it to be unlocked. The officer opens the door, sprays mace inside for about four seconds, shuts the door and then walks off. Yet another video captures one corrections officer boasting to another: “I’m just going to spray him right in his fucking face. He ain’t even gonna see it coming.” The videos were included as part of court filing yesterday in an ongoing class action lawsuit being brought by past and current detainees of the City Justice Center who allege they were excessively maced as well as deprived of access to water. The videos have been made publicly available by the Arch City Defenders and Rights Behind Bars, both of whom are among the legal entities representing the current and former detainees. Specific allegations in the suit include that corrections staff spray detainees in confined areas, “leaving them to ‘marinate’ in the burning air.”The suit names the City of St. Louis and several specific corrections officers as defendants. According to the Arch City Defenders, it is not uncommon for chemical agents to be used on detainees in the city jail who are “trapped in their cells, visiting rooms or otherwise restrained who present no physical threat.” The videos made publicly available, they say, represent only a handful of at least 250 instances of officers in the jail deploying chemical agents on detainees who are “passively resistant.” They say there are also dozens of documented instances of officers using “riot-sized” cans of chemical agents intended for use on crowds. In addition to the released material, Arch City Defenders allege that the city has deleted 80 percent of the video requested as part of the lawsuit. “While the evidence presented is expansive, the full extent of abuse at the jail is still unclear,” the organization said in a press release.“This trove of documents and videos further prove what has already become evident over the years: CJC correctional officers are weaponizing chemical agents and other torture tactics in retaliation, for punitive reasons, or just because they can as an exercise of power,” said attorney Shubra Ohri in a statement. Ohri is an attorney with the MacArthur Justice Center and is one of the lawyers representing the detainees. Ohri goes on to accuse the City of St. Louis of sanctioning the conduct by attempting to hide and cover it up.The issue of oversight at the city jail has been contention as of late. In May, former FBI agent Matthew Brummund resigned as the head of the Division of Civilian Oversight, an umbrella agency created in August by Mayor Tishaura Jones that houses both the Detention Facility Oversight Board and the police Civilian Oversight Board. Brummund said that his reason for leaving was because the City Counselor’s Office was blocking the very oversight work the entity was tasked with completing. In June, the remaining members of the Detention Facility Oversight Board wrote a letter to Jones calling for the resignation of the head of city corrections Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah.This is a developing story and we will update the post as we learn more.
We welcome tips and feedback. Email the author at [email protected] or follow on Twitter at @RyanWKrull. Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

12 months 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

12 months 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

12 months 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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