A federal grand jury has indicted St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery over his handcuffing of then-acting jail boss Tammy Ross last February.
The charge is for “deprivation of rights under color of law,” according to the indictment unsealed on Thursday afternoon. The U.S. Department of Justice describes the offense as an incident in which federal, state or local officials deprive someone of their constitutional rights while purportedly acting in their official duties.
There’s a wide range of penalties upon conviction depending on the circumstances of the case — up to life in prison.
St. Louis’ sheriff has already had his arraignment and first appearance, according to federal court records. Montgomery waived his right to have the indictment read and was released on personal recognizance.
"The federal government brought a one count misdemeanor indictment against Sheriff Montgomery. He maintains his innocence," said Justin Gelfand, one of the sheriff's attorneys. "We entered a plea of not guilty, and we intend to meet these charges head on."
Montgomery had ordered Ross handcuffed in February while attempting to interview a jail detainee who alleged they had been sexually assaulted by a sheriff’s deputy. St. Louis police subsequently referred the interaction between Ross and Montgomery to the FBI for investigation, though the federal agency would not confirm or deny its involvement.
Gelfand said the sheriff has no intention of resigning following the federal indictment.
"The sheriff is committed to continuing to serve the people that elected him and put him into office," the attorney said. "The sheriff and I both respect the process and respect the court system and we're going to continue to fight this case in the court of law."
Ross is also suing the sheriff in federal court over the matter, alleging false imprisonment, battery and civil rights violations.
Thursday’s indictment release came hours after the Missouri attorney general’s office dismissed its nepotism charge in a sweeping attempt to remove Montgomery from office.
The quo warranto petition initiated by Attorney General Andrew Bailey includes five other counts — including the office’s allegations that handcuffing and detaining Ross equated to kidnapping.
Bailey has also accused Montgomery of misusing public funds, having staff drive his children to school, disarming a former sheriff’s deputy and refusing to transport detainees to the hospital.
This is only the latest in the St. Louis sheriff’s legal troubles. A former sheriff’s deputy who was fired by Montgomery earlier this year after being made to roll a pair of golden dice in the hope of saving his job is suing the sheriff for defamation.
St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
