St. Louis police officer Luther Hall was present at a street protest while he was undercover in 2017. Apparently his disguise was so good that his fellow police officers failed to recognize him when they brutally beat him in the street.
Mr. Hall was offered a $23.5 million reward for the attack, according to a statement on Monday. St Louis American.
The incident occurred two days after Jason Stockley, a former St. Louis police officer, was acquitted of murder in the fatal shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith.
Police anticipated protests following the acquittal and deployed 200 officers from the “Civil Disobedience Squad” over the weekend of 2017.
More than 120 people were arrested, including Mr. Hall and his colleague Louis Naes, a white police officer who was undercover with the marchers.
Mr Naes told investigators his arrest was “routine” but said police in riot gear had “paid the penalty”. [Mr Hall] “Like Rodney King.”
In 2018, four St. Louis police officers were indicted on federal charges. Three were accused of beating an undercover colleague and four were accused of covering up the incident.
Prosecutors argued that officers Dustin Boone, Randy Hays and Christopher Myers slammed Mr. Hall to the ground, kicked him and beat him with metal batons even though he was “compliant and posed no physical threat to anyone.”
The indictment also revealed messages sent between police officers expressing disdain for the protesters and excitement at the chance to defeat them.
In a correspondence dated September 15, 2017, just two days before the incident, Myers wrote, “Let’s have some fun,” to which Boone replied, “It’ll be a lot of fun beating these assholes.” When the sun goes down and no one can tell us apart!!!!”
Judge Joseph Whyte told Monday’s hearing that after Mr Hall was attacked, Hays sent a text message to another police officer saying “it wouldn’t have been a problem” if they had beaten a protester instead of a police officer.
Mr Whyte said Hays’ messages and actions showed his “total indifference” towards “an individual he believed to be an unarmed African American who had done nothing wrong”. New York Times.
Boone, Hays and Myers were charged with conspiracy to deprive Mr. Hall of his constitutional rights and obstruct justice. A fourth officer, Bailey Colletta, was indicted by a grand jury for lying about the incident when she told the jury that Mr. Hall was “very gently put down.”
Mr Hall’s jaw was damaged after he was kicked in the face. The blow was so severe that he was unable to eat during his recovery and lost nearly 20 pounds as a result.
During his sentencing hearing on February 2, 2022, Mr. Hall made an emotional statement about the attack, KMOV reported.
“Feet, fist, sticks. People punch me. “I was being arrested,” he said. “It felt like that. [it went on] He will lie there forever.”
Mr Hall said he knew he was injured but could not say the severity of his injuries at the time of the attack.
“I was in so much pain,” he said.
He also stated that his tailbone was injured in the attack and that he needed surgery to repair two herniated discs in his neck and back.
Prosecutors said the three accused officers discovered that Mr. Hall lied about the arrest, claiming he was “resisting and disobeying” and that the officers attempted to contact him to persuade him not to press charges or pursue legal action.
Boone was found guilty and sentenced to 366 days in prison, while Myers was given one year of probation. Colletta was given three years probation and two consecutive weeks in prison for lying to the grand jury.
Both Colletta and Hays pleaded guilty to the charges. According to NBC5, Hays was sentenced to 52 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
Mr. Hall also sued Boone, Hays and Myers for the assault. He was awarded $5 million from the city and was awarded Monday $10 million in punitive damages, $11 million for past and future physical and emotional suffering and nearly $2 million in damages for lost wages.
In addition, he was awarded more than $213,000 in damages for delayed retirement and insurance benefits, as well as more than $366,000 in past and future medical expenses.
The Rev. Darryl Gray, who at the time served as community officer for the Ethical Policing Association, which represents primarily black police officers, said he was happy to see Mr. Hall receive some justice and hoped the incident would exemplify the complaints of grievance groups like his. raised.
“Unfortunately, this happened to Luther. [Hall] but it’s not unusual,” said Mr. Gray. St Louis American. “This is what we are trying to say in the hope that the police will accept that the complaints and concerns we have been raising for years are real.
He said he hoped the hearing’s findings would vindicate “what the activist community has been crying out for all these years: accountability.”
The city also agreed to pay $5 million to nearly seven dozen people who accused police of violating their rights during the 2017 protests.