St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery is asking a judge to temporarily block recently passed legislation defining his role and placing his office under strict financial monitoring for the next year.
In the petition for a temporary restraining order filed Monday, the sheriff’s office argues Board Bill 33 would cause “irreparable harm” to the safety and security of the 22nd Judicial Circuit if deputies are required to transport detainees to medical appointments. This has been a monthslong point of contention cited in the state attorney general’s petition to oust Montgomery from office.
The filing contends the ordinance violates state law and the Missouri Constitution because the city lacks authority to redefine the duties of a county office. Montgomery argues that power rests solely with the Missouri General Assembly.
“This Board bill threatens to undermine safety and security in the courts and should be restrained in its enforcement until such time as a declaratory judgment action can be heard and ruled upon,” wrote Matt Ghio and David Mason, attorneys working in the sheriff’s office.
5th Ward Alderman Matt Devoti, Board Bill 33’s sponsor, said he was not concerned about the legislation's legality.
“We are on extremely solid ground,” he told reporters on Friday after the bill’s passage. “To be clear, we are not creating a new responsibility or a new duty. What we are doing is we're clarifying that responsibility.”
Montgomery’s legal team further argues that responsibility for medical transports lies with the Department of Public Safety and the city’s corrections division under its contract with the private provider Physician Correctional USA — a deal the sheriff’s office said it's not party to.
“The sheriff of the city of St. Louis has absolutely no legal duty to transport prisoners under the care and custody of the City of St. Louis, nor can the Board Of Aldermen pass legislation that transfers this duty to the sheriff of the City of St. Louis,” Ghio and Mason wrote. “This can be seen in the Supreme Court decision nearly 100 years ago that clearly established the office of the jailer — now the Criminal Justice Center — has this duty, not the Sheriff.”
The sheriff’s office sought additional funding from the Board of Aldermen’s budget committee last June, in part to cover medical transports, but was ultimately denied amid growing scrutiny over questions about spending in the office. Montgomery insists the expenditures were needed to modernize the department.
The sheriff’s office doubled down on the need for the Board of Aldermen to provide additional funding to perform transportation services.
“Given the circumstances, appropriate staffing is paramount,” the Monday court filing reads. “In the absence of this funding, the board bill will simply create greater chaos and undermine effective medical care for the prisoners in custody of the criminal justice center.”
A spokesperson for the city said they do not comment on pending legal action.
