St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery speaks in court (KSDK/YouTube).
A Missouri sheriff under federal indictment for allegedly abusing his office has been told he cannot run the department from jail.
St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery, 28, has been temporarily removed from office until his trial over whether he can serve begins on Nov. 18. The court's decision was hailed as a victory by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who has spearheaded efforts to remove Montgomery from office.
"Today's decision to remove Sheriff Montgomery from office until trial was the right call," Hanaway said in a statement. "A sheriff under federal indictment, facing a quo warranto proceeding, and sitting in jail cannot credibly lead a law enforcement agency."
"My office will continue pressing the case to ensure the Court grants the quo at trial on November 18," she added. "The people of St. Louis deserve to have confidence that their law enforcement leadership is steady, capable, and worthy of the public's trust."
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Montgomery assumed office in January of this year, yet his brief time in charge of the St. Louis Sheriff's Department has been mired in scandal.
In February, Montgomery went to the city's downtown City Justice Center after an inmate claimed she had sexual relations with a sheriff's deputy. He said he wanted to see the detainee, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
When deputy jail director Tammy Ross refused, Montgomery reportedly ordered his deputies to handcuff her. Hanaway would end up suing to have Montgomery removed from office, and the FBI launched an investigation.
Montgomery's office is not only unique in that it is a city sheriff's department, but — unlike other sheriff's departments across the state — it does not run the jail or perform general law enforcement duties, according to the regional newspaper. Sheriff's deputies are instead tasked with transporting prisoners to and from court, providing courthouse security, and serving legal papers.
After Hanaway's lawsuit to have Montgomery ousted was filed, retired Missouri Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer was tasked with overseeing the case. Despite the attorney general's pleas, however, Ohmer denied a request for an immediate suspension of Montgomery.
Montgomery was originally indicted in August by the U.S. Attorney's Office — but it was on Oct. 8, that a superseding indictment was filed. And this indictment contained scores of details into the sheriff's alleged unlawful behavior.
After the FBI began interviewing witnesses in February about the courthouse detention, Montgomery is accused of demoting a deputy because he believed he had cooperated with the investigation. He then promoted the officer back to his rank of lieutenant, doing so before the officer's deposition and expressing pleasure in the timing.
There were other employees he appeared to be worried about.
According to the affidavit, in a Sept. 5, recorded phone call, Montgomery said three employees had "been playing f— games since day one" and were "the ones been telling the feds all type of s—… We got it on record, the depositions, … statements to the FBI, all the s— [they] been telling them people … It's been the motherf— the whole f— time."
"I'm sick of this s— and I'm sick of these snake motherf—," he allegedly added, saying they "gotta go."
"I don't have to take this s—, I'm the f— sheriff," Montgomery went on, according to the affidavit, which added that the next day, he told three employees they were not allowed in the courthouse. "I say it's either done or it ain't. I don't have to tolerate this s—. You work for the pleasure of me. I brought you in this mother—, I will move you up out this mother—."
A trial on the federal criminal charges has not yet been scheduled.
