KANSAS CITY - A spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety confirms Sarah Russell has been fired as the St. Louis City Emergency Management Commissioner. The firing comes after a report released Monday detailed "multiple cascading failures at almost every level" leading up to and during May's tornado.
Russell, who uses they/them pronouns, was back in City Hall on Monday before the report's release for a pre-termination hearing according to a post on their social media. Russell expressed skepticism what they said would have any impact on their employment status.
Russell was put on leave days after the May 16th tornado, when it was revealed the Russell and their staff were out of the office at a training session despite the tornado watch being issued hours ahead of the EF-3 tornado ripping through St. Louis City.
The report was critical of Russell's decisions prior to, during and after the tornado. In the report, it was revealed Russell was unaware the tornado sirens failed to be deployed until later that evening when Mayor Spencer asked them why.
The report also detailed how Russell chose to do "windshield assessments," driving around the city to observe the damage in person instead of leading from the emergency operations center.
Russell had served as the Emergency Management since 2021.
