New filing says a sergeant in Alfred Montgomery’s office was tasked with picking up his kids every week, constituting a misuse of public resources.
A judge dismissed Sheriff Alfred Montgomery’s argument that a new rule would overwhelm his staff.
A lawyer for Montgomery argued the law threatened public safety by moving deputies from other office functions to meet the demands of transporting jail inmates for emergency care.
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.
“This legislation is a mistake,” Alderwoman Sharon Tyus said Friday.
The judge said Sheriff Alfred Montgomery’s marijuana use, history of mental illness and the fact that he “flip-flopped” on some answers in an interview with pretrial services officers concerned him.
Lawyers for the attorney general’s office said they had relied on a high-ranking deputy in the sheriff’s office for their claim.
Federal prosecutors say Alfred Montgomery committed a misdemeanor when he ordered his deputies to handcuff deputy jail commissioner Tammy Ross.
The claim, the sheriff’s lawyers say, is “patently false.”
Recently released records add to the tally of questioned spending by a sheriff fighting for his political life.
“An extraordinary writ of quo warranto does not apply in this matter and should not serve to oust a democratically elected sheriff,” the filing says.
The seven wide-ranging subpoenas filed last week seek records including video footage, employee files, emails, memoranda and even license plate reader results.
The first hearing in the case seeking Sheriff Alfred Montgomery’s removal from office featured procedural wrangling, a trial date and the presentation of birth certificates.
Alfred Montgomery’s path to the sheriff’s office started decades ago in north St. Louis. Claims about his background and college degrees don’t always check out.
Sheriff Alfred Montgomery hired a half-brother, Malik Taylor, as a deputy, according to the suit Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed to oust Montgomery.
Alfred Montgomery said late Tuesday he would not resign. “I have not been found guilty of any wrongdoing,” he said at a late afternoon courthouse press conference.
The sheriff’s office ordered 250 new ones from Leon Uniform Co. earlier this year. The order was shipped in early March.
A city spokesperson said Sheriff Alfred Montgomery’s office had started refusing requests the day after telling aldermen he had withdrawn a threat to do so.
“We’re looking into it,” Comptroller Donna Baringer, the city’s chief financial officer, said Thursday.
Montgomery, who is Black, pointed out that newly elected Mayor Cara Spencer, who is white, brought in new staff and aldermen weren’t calling her in for a hearing.
That number goes a long way toward explaining why the sheriff’s office is on track for a big budget deficit this year.
Sheriff Alfred Montgomery said his office, struggling with a budget crisis, had neither the money nor the responsibility for the service.
Failure to comply could result in discipline up to and including termination, according to the policy.
Blake Lawrence, a top aide to Montgomery, confirmed the purchases Wednesday. He said the carts cost $10,000.
Much of the sheriff’s business occurs between two courthouses downtown. “Why would a golf cart be necessary to cross Market Street?” Devoti asked.
Deputy jail commissioner Tammy Ross accused Sheriff Alfred Montgomery on Wednesday of battery, unlawful arrest and violating her civil rights during the confrontation at the City Justice Center.
Montgomery has somehow managed to rise above — or sink below, as the case may be — the run of missteps and improprieties of city government and the public schools.
Tony Kirchner says he plans to file a discrimination complaint against Sheriff Alfred Montgomery.
“That’s just wrong on I don’t know how many levels,” Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said in an interview Saturday.
Sheriff Alfred Montgomery says former sheriff Vernon Betts and his staff took files and cabinets, furniture, keys, books and other vital information on their way out the door earlier this week.
Alfred Montgomery, a former deputy who unseated St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts in a contentious Democratic primary, filed for the restraining order Tuesday afternoon.