A judge permanently removed St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery from office on Tuesday.
The decision by St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven R. Ohmer brings a dramatic end to Montgomery’s turbulent yearlong tenure — one marked by lawsuits, whistleblower complaints, a damning city audit and a lengthy court battle over whether he should remain in office.
Ohmer concluded that Montgomery’s failures in multiple areas outlined by the state were sufficient to justify removal, even after one allegation — nepotism — was dropped during the proceedings.
“Respondent has willfully neglected his official duties and, as a result, has forfeited the office of sheriff for the City of St. Louis,” the judge wrote in his decision. Ohmer was asked to take on the case after the 22nd Circuit’s bench all recused themselves. “It is further ordered that the temporary order of removal is hereby made permanent and the respondent is hereby ordered ousted from the office of sheriff for the City of St. Louis.”
Former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey had filed a quo warranto petition in a bid to oust Montgomery in June and his successor, Catherine Hanaway, continued the effort.
The petition alleged six counts of misconduct by Montgomery, including illegal arrests, financial mismanagement and refusing to transport detainees to get medical care. The state dropped one allegation — nepotism — after court documents and DNA tests disproved that the sheriff was brothers with a deputy.
Ohmer wrote the majority of the attorney general’s allegations did not amount to a removal — several amounting to ongoing political disputes between officials. He based his decision on Montgomery ordering the handcuffing of then-acting jail commissioner Tammy Ross and disarming former Sheriff’s Deputy Darryll Wilson.
“This Court finds that the actions by [Montgomery] in both of these instances to be a clear violation of his duties and responsibilities as Sheriff and an improper interference in the orderly enforcement of the criminal laws by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department,” the judge wrote. “By interjecting himself into the criminal investigations of a police nature, [Montgomery] willfully violated his official duties and thereby neglected to perform his actual duties as Sheriff.”
Ohmer said that the sheriff’s insistence that the two incidents were part of “internal affairs investigations” does not justify “improper efforts to enforce the criminal laws.”
The judge further ruled Montgomery will pay for the costs associated with the case — including the almost $7,000 for transporting the sheriff from federal custody.
“Corruption in public office must not be tolerated. The removal of Alfred Montgomery is a win for the people of St. Louis and a step towards restoring integrity and trust in our government and the rule of law,” wrote Hanaway in a statement following the verdict. “Missourians deserve better from those in positions of trust. Our Office will continue using the full force of the law to hold any misconduct or malfeasance in public office accountable.”
David C. Mason, a lawyer representing Montgomery, said he respected Ohmer’s ruling, but was unsure if the evidence presented supported the decision.
“However, I will not be directly involved in an appeal,” he said, adding he is going back to the office attorney job part-time. “I do anticipate that his lawyers will be taking a close look at that option.”
What comes next?
While Montgomery is no longer in office, his legal troubles are far from over.
The former sheriff still faces a federal misdemeanor charge for handcuffing Ross, along with five federal felony counts of witness tampering and retaliation. The misdemeanor carries a potential sentence of up to one year in prison. The felony charges could result in a combined sentence of up to 100 years — up to 20 years on each charge.
Former Police Chief John Hayden is currently interim sheriff. Officials are still determining how to fill the vacancy permanently, but who has the authority to make that decision remains unresolved.
Hanaway, a Republican, previously told St. Louis Public Radio that she believes Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe has the power to appoint a replacement. She added that the governor and Mayor Cara Spencer appeared to be in agreement with the governor on a candidate.
Board of Aldermen President Megan Green disputes that interpretation.
In a letter previously sent to Spencer, Green said she would not support any selection process that excludes the Board of Aldermen. She wrote that the board understands Missouri law to require the mayor, the comptroller and the board itself to be involved in selecting a new sheriff.
“The integrity of this appointment — and the integrity of the appointment process itself — are essential to reestablishing trust in an embattled office,” Green wrote to the mayor. “I share the same commitment you’ve expressed to keeping this decision in the hands of local elected officials, which is why it’s imperative we’re aligned on this matter.”
Green has also said the board wants to hold public hearings to allow residents to weigh in on potential candidates.
History offers conflicting precedents. In 1978, when former Sheriff Benjamin L. Goins — the city’s first Black elected sheriff — was forced to step down after facing federal corruption and tax evasion charges, then-City Counselor Jack L. Koehr concluded that Missouri law required a special election within 30 days of the vacancy.
More recently, however, the governor appointed a replacement after St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigned — another county-level office.
Spencer said the law provides no clear answer.
“It’s a complicated web of regulations,” Spencer told STLPR. “While there are a lot of opinions, the only thing that is clear is that it’s not actually clear who has appointing authority in case of a vacancy in the St. Louis sheriff’s office.”
The mayor bypassed a recently passed Board of Aldermen resolution that asked the city to include the board in any legal action related to resolving the matter. St. Louis formally sued the state earlier this month, asking a judge in Cole County to determine who has appointing authority. The lawsuit argued that the power belongs to the mayor under the city charter, despite historical precedent suggesting otherwise.
The city withdrew the lawsuit the following day and refiled it in St. Louis’ 22nd Judicial Circuit. A city spokesperson declined to explain the change of venue.
The board sues
On Tuesday, the Green and the Board of Aldermen sued the city and state over Spencer’s declaratory judgement lawsuit that didn’t include the city’s legislative body.
“In filing this lawsuit, the mayor and the city counselor removed all doubt that they intended to exclude the Board from the process of selecting a replacement sheriff,” the board’s suit states. “This attack on the Board’s institutional power could not be ignored and the Board responded by passing a Board Resolution asserting its position.”
The board alleges that Spencer and the interim City Counselor Michael Garvin have repeatedly ignored their letters demanding the Board of Aldermen — and public — be included in the talks related to the sheriff’s replacement.
But, the board alleges Garvin told them the board does not have the power to be party to any lawsuit — either being sued or suing.
“To the city counselor, the mayor is the City. In his view, the mayor exclusively decides and speaks for the City, while the Board is surplusage, a mere department subordinate to the mayor,” the board’s suit alleges. “As one might expect, the Board was not happy to be told they were, in the eyes of their lawyer, inconsequential in these important matters.”
The Board hired outside counsel and is asking a circuit judge to decide on the matter.
“This is not a step the Board takes lightly,” said 6th Ward Alderwoman Daniela Velázquez. “We believe both precedent and state law make clear that the Board of Aldermen has a role in this process. Today’s action reflects our shared commitment, as a unified legislative body, to uphold our responsibility and protect the integrity of our city’s institutions.”
How we got here
Montgomery’s troubles have been brewing for the last year.
They started when he handed out termination letters to former Sheriff Vernon Betts’ top brass before being sworn in.
Betts signed off on hundreds of hours of his senior official’s accrued compensatory time right before he left, documents show. The move arguably cost the office hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to an audit done by the St. Louis comptroller’s office. City auditors that testified at the sheriff’s state trial said the expenses came as a result of the letters.
A deluge of scandals and legal challenges followed in the next months.
Unprecedented purchases — including a new take-home Chevrolet Tahoe, security robots, used golf carts, uniforms and gold-plated badges — drove up the office’s deficit. Montgomery’s administration defended the items as necessary updates for a long-neglected office, but those costs, combined with staffing expenses, drew the ire of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, which approves the department’s roughly $14 million annual budget.
When the board appeared skeptical of the sheriff’s expenses, he told the mayor he would stop transporting sick detainees to receive medical care since that duty is not explicitly written out in state statute. The mayor and board passed legislation requiring the sheriff’s office to complete such transports and submit to financial monitoring.
22nd Judicial Circuit Judge Joan Moriarty is still weighing the legality of that requirement but ordered the sheriff’s office to do those transports through early next year.
Multiple sheriff’s deputies have filed lawsuits against Montgomery, alleging they are owed pay. Montgomery is also under fire for ordering the handcuffing of the city’s acting jail commissioner..
During the trial, more than 30 witnesses detailed Montgomery’s confrontation with then-acting jail boss Tammy Ross. The calls for Montgomery’s resignation began shortly after that incident. Spencer and Green, the Aldermanic president, later joined in on the requests.
Montgomery faces a federal misdemeanor for the handcuffing incident and several felonies for subsequent alleged witness tampering and retaliation landed Montgomery behind bars, delaying the start of the state’s removal trial.
The Missouri attorney general repeatedly asked Ohmer to immediately remove the sheriff leading up to the trial, but her fourth time proved to be successful after Montgomery was jailed and sent to a facility in southern Illinois. Ohmer said he didn’t understand how Montgomery would be able to run the office while in federal custody and temporarily removed him.
Montgomery repeatedly denied wrongdoing throughout his time in office, calling the efforts to remove him politically and racially motivated. Hanaway has vehemently disagreed with the characterization.
“We have filed quo warranto actions all over the state — including in very small, majority-white areas — against sheriffs and prosecutors who aren’t doing their jobs,” she told reporters during the removal trial. “We’ll continue to do that wherever we see the taxpayers and the state and the citizens being harmed.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
