Judge removes Alfred Montgomery as St. Louis City Sheriff

Less than a year after swearing the oath of office, Alfred Montgomery is out as Sheriff of St. Louis City.

Of the six counts brought against Montgomery, 25, by then Attorney General Andrew Bailey, Judge Steven Ohmer ruled having Deputy Jail Commissioner Tammy Ross detained and disarming a former deputy rise to the level of removal.

Part of the sheriff's defense is that he was conducting "internal affairs investigations," and he was acting in good faith with the legal authority to take the actions he did. Sheriff's Attorney David Mason is standing by the defense he and the rest of Montgomery's legal team mounted.

"I don't see how can you can get to it being 'willful' if you sincerely believe you are acting legally."

Mason acknowledged there was one part of their defense he would change.

"[It] might have been a better idea to focus more heavily on the poor credibility of the witnesses the state brought."

Mason continues to insist in the two incidents that resulted in Montgomery's removal he did nothing wrong.

"We're talking about two cases where a person's gun was held from him for a few minutes... and [Tammy Ross] else who had consented to be cuffed, even admitted that she consented in court."

Mason shares Montgomery's feelings.

"He's obviously quite disappointed, he worked very, very hard to become the sheriff. Went through two election cycles," says Mason, adding "he still believes his conduct was legal but believes at worst, it was conduct with not such significance that it would justify removal from office"

Montgomery's controversies began before his term in office did. Shortly after winning his November election in a landslide, he sent letters of termination to senior staffers of his predecessor Vernon Betts. The resulting comp-time payouts blew a $500,000 hole in the department's budget.

The hole only grew as questionable financial decisions regularly made under Montgomery. Ordering new uniforms and badges, a new Chevy Tahoe take home vehicle for Montgomery, golf carts and robots are amongst the questionable purchases made while the deficit ballooning to over $800,000.

While Montgomery was overspending the budget, he began clashing with city officials over his role transporting detainees in need of medical care. Montgomery sent a letter to Mayor Cara Spencer announcing he would no longer be able to transport detainees in need of medical care due to lack of staffing. After rescinding the letter, the department began to neglect their duty, putting immense strain on the understaffed City Justice Center. The issue ultimately resulted in the City codifying the sheriff's role and a judge forcing him to transport detainees in need of medical care.

It didn't take long for Montgomery to find himself in legal trouble. The detainment of Deputy Jail Commissioner Tammy Ross took place in February, less than two months into Montgomery's tenure, while trying to interview a detainee of the jail who was allegedly sexually assaulted by one of his deputies. He also allegedly used gold trick dice to determine if a deputy's time off would be approved, only to later fire him. Montgomery was sued for both instances along with disarming the former deputy that was one of the counts of his removal.

Montgomery's most significant legal trouble came after he was federally charged with misdemeanor deprivation of rights for detaining Ross. A superseding indictment accused Montgomery of obtaining a burner phone and calling for retaliation against three employees for speaking to the feds. This resulted in five felony counts being filed against Montgomery and his bond being revoked, landing him behind bars.

Former Police Chief John Hayden will serve as interim Sheriff, but for how long? The Board of Aldermen have announced they have already legal action to intervene on his appointment, claiming they have the authority to replace the Sheriff vacancy.

Should a court battle ensue, it may not conclude by the time a permanent sheriff is chosen. According to the law, a special election to replace the sheriff within ten Tuesdays.

Mason says Montgomery might appeal, but he may no longer be the one defending him.

"Judge Ohmer's decision legally separated Mr. Montgomery from [me] in that position... I do not know if interim sheriff [John] Hayden will allow me to appeal."

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway took over the case when Andrew Bailey was named Deputy FBI Director. She says in a statement "To any other corrupt public officials in Missouri: Our Office will use the full force of the law to hold any misconduct or malfeasance accountable."