KANSAS CITY - St. Louis Sheriff Albert Montgomery say an investigation is underway into a former sheriff's deputy and the alleged misconduct is of a sexual nature. Montgomery calls it a criminal incident.
He also confirms Deputy CJC Commissioner Tammy Ross has denied deputies access to the jail on two occasions, including Friday. Montgomery says "today was the last time that the sheriff's office will allow her to impede on a legal process of the courts."
Montgomery says Ross was taken into custody because she "became very violent with deputies." She was only held until deputies talked to the Public Safety Director Charles Coyle and Mayor Tishaura Jones. Montgomery says they don't know, but believe Ross deliberately lost evidence related to the case. He adds, the sheriff's office was not notified until after St. Louis Police did their initial interview.
Montgomery tells KMOX his Internal Affairs is conducting their investigation and when completed he will ask the Missouri Highway Patrol to investigate the incident. When asked why not St. Louis Police, he said because he does not have a working relationship with St. Louis Police.
ORIGINAL STORY
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - An investigation is underway, led by the St. Louis Sheriff Department's Internal Affairs.
Sheriff Alfred Montgomery's spokesman Blake Lawrence says the misconduct involved a St. Louis Sheriff Deputy and a detainee at the City Justice Center.
Lawrence says right now, they are trying to determine when and for what duration the alleged misconduct took place. Lawrence would not say what the nature of the misconduct is, but he did say, there is only one deputy involved. However, he did not rule out that other jail staff could be involved.
Lawrence says sheriff's deputies went into the City Justice Center Friday to obtain evidence that they believed was "in imminent danger of destruction or expiration." He would not elaborate on the evidence.
KMOX News had been told by a source the Deputy Jail Commissioner Tammy Ross was placed in handcuffs, Lawrence would not confirm or deny that, but says "I will make the details available when I know it's lawful to do so."
The Director of Communications John Gieseke for the St. Louis Sheriff released the following statement:
February 14, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STATEMENT REGARDING INCIDENT AT CITY JUSTICE CENTER
The St. Louis City Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating an
incident involving a Sheriff’s Deputy at the City Justice Center. It has been
reported that the deputy engaged in inappropriate conduct with an inmate.
An internal investigation was immediately initiated and the proper external
authorities were notified. The Deputy, a three-year veteran of the Sheriff’s office, is no longer employed by the office. However, the investigation remains ongoing as we work to determine the exact timeline and scope of the misconduct. At this time, we are confident that the misconduct began at the end of last year.
The Sheriff’s office can also confirm that the scope of this investigation extends beyond the individual former Deputy Sheriff and includes a broader examination of related matters. Earlier today, Sheriff’s personnel determined that relevant evidence was in imminent risk of being concealed, destroyed, and/or allowed to expire .Sheriff’s personnel took immediate lawful action to prevent compromise of evidence.
Due to the extremely delicate nature of this investigation, we cannot provide more specifics at this time. However, the Sheriff’s Office remains committed to transparency and will share additional information as it becomes available, in accordance with the law.
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KMOX asked St. Louis Police if they are involved in the investigation: A spokesman released the following statement Friday evening:
"The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is aware of a potential incident today at the City Justice Center. We have no comment at this time."