In a statement, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is demanding embattled Sheriff Alfred Montgomery resign from office by noon Wednesday or face removal. Bailey claimed the "level of misconduct and instability demands immediate accountability.”
"The public has lost trust in Sheriff Montgomery, given his mismanagement of his office and violations of the law." Attorney General Bailey tells KMOX. "Misconduct, public corruption... that's what we're talking about and the people of St. Louis deserve better.
Bailey points to a number of unspecified number of reports and allegations of misconduct during Montgomery's short tenure as Sheriff. Without getting into details, Bailey lists financial mismanagement, workplace misconduct and abuse of authority, and Montgomery's "failure to perform his duties."
In his near six months since taking office, the department has been severely over budget, fueled by terminations of the previous administration's leadership and raises along with questionable spending. There have also been reports of the Sheriff using staff and department vehicles to transport his kids to and from school, rolling golden dice to determine a deputy's leave.
Attroney General Bailey says the sheriff going outside his authority is what he finds most concerning, pointing to a February incident where Montgomery had the deputy commissioner of the City Justice Center briefly detained.
"When he's making arrests, when he's handcuffing people, when he's interfering with the administration of justice," Bailey tells KMOX, referring to the February incident. "There's a statute directly on point that's been on the books for decades that says the Sheriff of the City of St. Louis does not enforce the general laws of the state of Missouri."
Sheriff Montgomery was defiant in his refusal to step down.
"Let me be very clear, very clear, that I will not resign. I was elected by the people of the City of St. Louis to serve as their sheriff and I intend to honor that commitment."
Montgomery claimed the evidence Bailey says he has are not based in fact but in stories from the press. "I welcome any lawful investigation or inquiry rooted in truth, but I will not stand by while this office is attacked in the press with false claims and reckless accusations."
Montgomery refused to take questions from the press and walked out after reading a prepared statement. His attorney David C. Moore answered questions. Moore focused on defending accusations the department was neglecting their duty to transport detainees but was fleeting when asked about other issues, such as detaining the jail's deputy commissioner Tammy Ross.
"Whether or not the detention was legal is for a court that I'm not dealing with."
Asked to respond to Montgomery's refusal to step down, the Attorney General's says they will remove Montgomery with a writ of quo warranto, the same process used to remove then St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner before her abrupt resignation.
Bailey says the timeline for removal could depend on how quickly a judge wants the court process to move along, adding "we have sufficient evidence to move forward now and believe in the merits of the case and are gonna ask the court to expedite the process."
Seeking more information, Attorney General Bailey has setup a tip line where individuals can contact his office by emailing STLcorruption.ago.mo.gov.
Attorney General Andrew Bailey has scheduled a press conference in St. Louis for 12:30 Wednesday afternoon, 30 minutes after his deadline for Montgomery to resign.