A former St. Louis Detention Facilities Oversight member is suing ex-jail warden Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah, two police officers and a jail supervisor for using excessive force during an arrest and violating their civil rights.
Janis Mensah, then the board’s vice chair, was visiting the St. Louis City Justice Center on Aug. 31, 2023 in their capacity on the oversight board to learn more about detainee Terrance Smith, 55, who had died in custody that day due to heart problems. After waiting in the jail lobby for hours as protests erupted outside the jail, Mensah says Clemons-Abdullah called police without warning and had them arrested.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers Brian Gonzales and Ian Csapo are accused of punching Mensah and causing physical harm after arriving on scene to conduct the arrest. Captain Ann Flint, a supervisor at the jail at the time, is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and is accused of providing inadequate information to police and instigating the arrest.
“They started grabbing me and punching me, and these are pretty large men, a couple hundred pounds,” Mensah said. “Now I just kind of have to move forward with what’s available to me, and filing this lawsuit is.”
Mensah was found not guilty of trespassing and resisting arrest charges last month, but now they’re seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
“This matter could have been over years ago if the city had not prosecuted Janis for two years and also refused to apologize,” said ArchCity Defenders attorney Maureen Hanlon. “So while we're not asking for it in the lawsuit, I think a simple apology would go a long way.”
Amendment violations
The lawsuit states that Mensah and Clemons-Abdullah’s working relationship quickly took a decline since Mensah was appointed to the oversight board in March 2022.
The oversight board was established under former St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones in 2022 to review internal jail complaints and provide recommendations about operations and conditions at the city jail, as well as provide disciplinary actions for employees in the Division of Corrections.
But the board has struggled to effectively do its job and access the jail since its inception — members have only visited the jail a handful of times and last met with a detainee in April 2024.
Mensah and other board members went to the jail to introduce themselves to staff shortly after being appointed in March 2022, but staff said they were confused about who they were and had never heard of an oversight board and denied them entry.
In April, members of the board met with Clemons-Abdullah for the first time, and she informed them that she had told then-Mayor Jones that it was “too soon” for an oversight board, and that she didn’t think jail oversight was appropriate until she had been in her position longer.
The lawsuit alleges Clemons-Abdullah was particularly hostile to Mensah during that meeting, stating, “[They] are the one trying to take my job.”
The lawsuit states that it wasn’t until November 2022 that Clemons-Abdullah invited the DFOB for an informal tour of jail.
Mensah again went to the jail on April 7, 14, and 21 of 2023, and each time, alleges they were made to wait several hours in the jail lobby.
Mensah was permitted on one visit to speak with a detainee who had been maced, assaulted, and neglected by staff, but staff cut that short and made Mensah leave the facility.
Between April and August of 2023, the lawsuit states Mensah continued to contact Clemons-Abdullah, notifying her of their right to conduct oversight pursuant to city ordinance. But Clemons-Abdullah’s failures to respond or allow access violated St. Louis city code, which states:
“The [oversight board] shall be provided access to City detention facilities at any time upon notice to the Commissioner and without conditions or requirements as to the timing or form of such notice,” the lawsuit reads.
Despite the city ordinance mandating members of the board have access to the facility, the lawsuit alleges Clemons-Abdullah told them that they would need to schedule visits with her at a time of her choosing and provide a detailed itinerary that she could approve or deny.
She also wouldn’t allow them to speak with detainees, the lawsuit alleges.
The suit alleges that Clemons-Abdullah violated Mensah’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights on August 31, 2023 by having Mensah arrested in retaliation for being critical of Clemons-Abdullah’s refusal to give the board enough access to the jail in the months prior.
According to the law group, Clemons-Abdullah’s actions were “intentional, wanton, malicious, oppressive, reckless, and callously indifferent” toward Mensah.
Waiting for oversight
When Mensah arrived at the city jail just before 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2023 after learning about another detainee death, they had not received any written notice from the commissioner explaining that there were circumstances that would temporarily preclude the board access to the jail, according to the suit.
Deputy Commissioner Tammy Ross came out and asked Mensah why they were there.
Mensah says they regularly communicated with Ross about whether or not the board members were allowed access to the facility.
Mensah requested to view the facility’s master control video room — located adjacent to the visitor’s lobby — to see surveillance videos of the cells showing the recent death of the detainee.
Ross denied that a detainee had died, but was leaving work and directed a corrections officer to allow Mensah past the metal detector and into the interior lobby.
Mensah said that based on past experiences, they feared that if they left the lobby, their request would be ignored. They were also concerned that relevant video footage of the circumstances of the death would be deleted or not provided to the oversight board.
Mensah waited in the lobby for three hours.
Just after 8 p.m., Mensah asked a correctional officer when the lobby closed, and they were told that the interior lobby closed when the last visit occurred, and that they were welcome to stay on the other side of the lobby, located outside the metal detectors. Mensah says that officer did not tell them to leave the building, however, so they continued to wait.
Around 8:20 p.m., Flint, the jail captain, asked Mensah to move to the other side of the lobby outside of the metal detector.
The lawsuit states that Flint added, “You don’t have to go out of the building.” Two minutes later, Ross returned with Clemons-Abdullah and asked Mensah about protestors outside the building. She also asked Mensah why they were still in the lobby, and Mensah restated that they were there to see the master controls in light of the recent death.
The two jail officials walked away stating they’d be back. Mensah continued sitting and even chatting with others.
The lawsuit states that Clemons-Abdullah did not tell Mensah that she was denying the oversight visit or that they would be arrested if they did not leave. Clemons-Abdullah called the St. Louis police at 8:27 p.m., stating that “a “5’5” Black [person]” was refusing to leave the CJC lobby and asked for police to “get [them] out of the lobby,” stating that “[they] have no reason to be here.”
Excessive force
Just before 9 p.m. and less than a minute after arriving on the scene, police officers Gonzales and Csapo approached Mensah, who said they were sitting still with their arms by their sides. Mensah says they didn’t know why the police were there.
Officer Gonzales said, “Why are we not leaving when they ask you to leave?” and then, “It’s time to go,” the lawsuit reads.
Feeling afraid for their safety, Mensah moved their body away from the officers, and moved their hands under the arms of the metal bench. Officer Gonzales then told Mensah to stand up, the lawsuit states.
But less than two seconds later, before they could oblige, Gonzales and Csapo both began pushing and pulling Mensah’s body, and Csapo put his body weight on top of Mensah.
"It's hard for me to accept the idea that I have to pursue justice through the same legal system, the same punitive system that has harmed me and negatively impacted my life over the past two years."
— Janis Mensah
The lawsuit states that the officers gave no verbal direction to let go of the bench.
Once on the floor, the lawsuit states Gonzales punched Mensah repeatedly with a closed fist, while Mensah was completely restrained. The lawsuit states Mensah unhooked their arms from the bench within five seconds, and that it was only after becoming physical that Csapo stated, “You are under arrest.”
“They had slammed my head into the ground, and I was really dazed and confused, and they were just kind of screaming things like orders at me and things like that, but only after they had started beating me,” Mensah said during an interview with St. Louis Public Radio.
Gonzales and Csapo removed Mensah from the bench with such force that the metal bench moved several feet causing Mensah to be thrown to the floor, the lawsuit states. That’s when Mensah’s head hit the floor, and they began to lose consciousness.
Csapo put his knee in Mensah’s back while Gonzales continued punching Mensah, yelling, “Put your hands behind your back!”
The lawsuit states Mensah couldn’t move their arm because it was under their torso, which was in turn under Csapo.
After Csapo moved, Gonzales was able to cuff Mensah’s hands.
The lawsuit states Mensah regained consciousness in the hospital and realized they were sitting in a wheelchair. They heard the two officers tell the medical staff that they suspected Mensah was faking symptoms.
The two officers did not tell the medical staff there had been a physical confrontation and did not state that they had repeatedly struck Mensah’s head, the lawsuit reads. After being released from the hospital, the lawsuit states Mensah continued to experience pain for several weeks including swollen and bruised wrists, and ongoing neck and head pain.
Mensah says it’s up to the courts now to decide the next course of action.
“As an abolitionist, this is a really difficult situation for me because it's hard for me to accept the idea that I have to pursue justice through the same legal system, the same punitive system that has harmed me and negatively impacted my life over the past two years.
“I pursued an apology, but they weren't willing to give it when my relationship with the warden was kind of disintegrating,” Mensah added. “I pursued mediation, but she was not interested in it. I just feel like none of this had to happen the way it did.”
Twenty detainees have died at the city jail since 2020 — 31-year-old Samuel Hayes Jr. died in custody last month after being placed in a restraint chair. Nate Hayward, the deputy director of security at St. Louis County Justice Services, will take over as commissioner of the city jail on Sept. 16.
