ST. LOUIS — Sheriff Alfred Montgomery is suing the city to block a new ordinance requiring his office to transport jail detainees to medical appointments and justify office expenses to the city comptroller.
A lawsuit, filed just hours after Mayor Cara Spencer signed the rules into law Monday, says only the state Legislature can prescribe duties for the sheriff. It says the transportation assignment will take deputies away from vital courtroom security duties, and asks a judge to declare the ordinance illegal.
The new law, sponsored by Alderman Matt Devoti, of the Hill, aimed to address two issues: Montgomery’s dozens of refusals to take city jail detainees to doctors since taking office in January, and a string of controversial purchases. It says the sheriff is obligated by state law to transport the detainees. It would also require his office to provide written explanations of all expenses to the city comptroller, and make monthly reports on the office’s spending to aldermen.
City officials, including Mayor Cara Spencer, say the refusals — a break from practice under the past two previous sheriffs — have forced shorthanded jail staff to scramble to cover medical transports. Many of the same officials have also been alarmed by Montgomery’s spending on new badges and uniforms, used golf carts, security robots and a take-home Chevrolet Tahoe amid a budget deficit in his office.
The Missouri attorney general’s office has cited both issues in a separate lawsuit seeking the sheriff’s removal from office.
But representatives for the sheriff have for weeks called Devoti’s bill illegal and unworkable. State law, they argue, does not require the St. Louis sheriff to transport detainees to medical appointments or justify expenses. And they say that is the final word on the matter because the sheriff’s office is a creation of state law, not city code.
The sheriff, they say, is willing to transport detainees — but needs a bigger budget and more staff to take on the duties without sacrificing others, like guarding courtrooms.
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Austin Huguelet | Post-Dispatch
St. Louis City Hall reporter
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