After he was beaten during 2017 protests, an undercover black police detective has filed a lawsuit alleging civil rights violations at the hands of four white St. Louis police officers and other city officials. Immediately after the shooting homicide of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014, St. Louis quickly became a focus of calls for police reform and protests against police brutality, particularly along racial lines. Three years later, in 2017, former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley was acquitted of first-degree murder charges in the death of a black man named Anthony Lamar Smith; the acquittal launched new protests, as well as more allegations of law enforcement mistreating protestors and generally not living up to their sworn duties as peacekeepers.
One particularly egregious case involved Detective Luther Hall, and took place during protests two days after Stockley’s acquittal. Det. Hall, a 22-year veteran of the force, who is black, was working undercover when he found himself the victim of the same sort of police brutality that protesters were fighting against.
He was reportedly thrown to the ground by three of St. Louis’ finest, and beaten with a baton before becoming one of over 100 protestors handcuffed that night. Subsequently, the officers and the police department allegedly worked feverishly to cover up the incident. They failed, and Officers Bailey Colletta, Randy Hays, Dustin Boone, and Christopher Myers were indicted in Dec. 2018 on federal charges; evidence showed Boone sent the others text messages before the protests, joking about beating protestors. Colletta has since pled guilty to her federal charges, admitting she lied to the FBI and to a grand jury about Hall’s arrest. The other three are set to face trial in December.
On Monday, a federal civil rights lawsuit was filed by Hall and his attorney concerning the incident and subsequent fallout. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the filing includes an allegation that Mayor Lyda Krewson made a “flip comment” about damage done to Hall’s “cute face” during a short elevator ride. The mayor’s office insists that Mayor Krewson did not remember making such a remark. The lawsuit also points out that Officer Joseph Marcantano, allegedly involved in the beating of Det. Hall, not only escaped censure, but was promoted to sergeant shortly after federal charges were filed against him, proving that “misconduct is not only protected but rewarded by the city and department.
Hall’s attorney says he has not returned to work, in no small part due to “multiple herniated disks,” and injuries to his jaw and lip. As for the four officers, Colletta could face up to three years in jail, based on federal sentencing guidelines. Considering the system at work here, it is unlikely she will receive that kind of time.