[ad_1]
Officers Dustin Boone, Randy Hays and Christopher Myers of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) are charged with beating the undercover officer with a riot baton and assaulting them. having manipulated witnesses to conceal the incident, according to the Department of Justice. Myers has also been accused of having destroyed evidence. Agent Bailey Colletta was charged with providing false statements to a federal grand jury in connection with the incident.
The indictment also details the SMS between Myers and Boone in which they tell how much fun it will be to beat. the devil once the sun is down and no one can tell us "apart".
CNN tried to reach the city of St. Louis, the SLMPD and the associations representing the officers, but did not receive a message
In September 2017, the four officers were assigned to a team Civil disobedience, in charge of crowd control, in anticipation of a protest against the acquittal of agent Jason Stockley, announced the US Department of Justice in a press release. 19659005] Stockley was a St. Louis police officer in 2011 when he fatally shot down a black driver, Anthony Lamar Smith, after a police chase. Stockley, who is white, claimed that he was acting in self-defense because he believed Smith was looking for a firearm. Prosecutors argued that Stockley had planted the gun to justify the shooting.
According to the indictment, Boone, Hays and Myers threw LH to the ground without any probable motive and began to beat him with riot sticks.
According to Thursday's indictment, LH "was an experienced secret agent who had been wearing a shirt that revealed his belt so that it would not be confused with his armament." [19659002AssoonasMyersBooneandHayslearnedthatLHwasapoliceofficertheindictmentindicatedthattheyhadmadefalsestatementsjustifyingtheassaultTheythencontactedLHtodeterhimfromsuingandcontactingwitnessestotrytoinfluencetheirtestimony
Myers also destroyed LH's mobile phone "With the intention of preventing, hindering and influencing the investigation", according to the act of # 39; accusation.
Text Messages
Most text messages of the indictment between Myers, Boone and Hays Include expletives.
"We really need these f ** kers to start playing u (p) so we can have fun," Boone texted, after determining that they would be part of the same team.
"A lot of cops have been injured, but it's always a pleasure to beat the people who deserve it," says another Boone text.
He also announced that he would work with a black officer and nicknamed him "a thug who is on our side."
& # 39; Veered & # 39; off
The agent Colletta – who was in a romantic relationship at the time h Hays, according to the indictment, was part of the team that that evening and gave contradictory explanations as to why they had arrested LH, according to the indictment.
Initially, Colletta stated that she had never been in contact with L.H that night. Then she claimed to have witnessed the arrest and to have seen L.H. dropped to the ground "very gently".
Colletta also stated that the group was "fired" to arrest L.H., according to the indictment. The next day, she said she had learned from her sergeant that they had arrested L.H. because it matched the description of a radio dispatch.
In a subsequent statement, she claimed that she did not remember anyone who said that.
The Department of Justice states that the arrest and assault of L.H constitute a deprivation of his civil rights.
One of the charges is punishable by a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. The other three have a maximum duration of 20 years. The four counts are punishable by a fine of up to $ 250,000.
