51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� In one of his first cases as a federal judge, Joshua Divine was the one asking the questions.

And the key question in the case before him was about the state-appointed Board of Police Commissioners. As of March, that board was supposed to be in charge of the 51黑料 Metropolitan Police Department.

鈥淒oes the board exist right now?鈥� Divine asked Lucas Chapman, an assistant in the Missouri attorney general鈥檚 office, where the judge previously worked.

Divine, a Trump appointee, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a judge in the Eastern District of Missouri in July.

Now he鈥檚 overseeing a years-old wrongful death and police brutality case involving a 63-year-old 51黑料 man, Don Clark Sr. Clark was killed during a no-knock SWAT raid on his home in 2017. Clark鈥檚 family is suing the city and two police officers in the case. The suit was filed in 2021.

But the state takeover of the police department, passed by the Missouri Legislature earlier this year, muddied the waters. In July, the attorney general鈥檚 office filed a motion seeking to substitute the new Board of Police Commissioners as the defendant in the case, replacing the city of 51黑料.

But then Gov. Mike Kehoe decided to call a special session of the Legislature to pass a new gerrymandered map of congressional districts ordered by President Donald Trump and intended to create more Republican seats before the 2026 midterm elections.

Because of that special session, Kehoe withdrew his nominees to the Board of Police Commissioners. He knew that because the nominations hadn鈥檛 yet been confirmed by the Missouri Senate, they could come up for debate during the special session 鈥� causing delays and gumming up the plan to redraw voting maps. So the police board was now suddenly in limbo.

So the attorney general鈥檚 office went back to federal court and asked to withdraw its earlier motion to make the Board of Police Commissioners the proper party in the Clark lawsuit. It was a version of a legal do-over.

Not so fast, Divine said. He ordered all the attorneys to court to get to the bottom of the issue.

鈥淒oes the board exist right now?鈥� he asked.

鈥淣o,鈥� Chapman said. 鈥淭here is no board.鈥�

Divine wasn鈥檛 convinced. He read aloud from the law the Missouri Legislature passed. It says the mayor of the city 鈥� currently Cara Spencer 鈥� is automatically on the board. So does the board exist right now, but with Spencer as its only member, the judge asked?

鈥淚t鈥檚 a tricky issue,鈥� Chapman said.

On this point, the city counselor鈥檚 office disagreed. The law clearly says the state takes over all liabilities of the police department, even if they occurred before the takeover, argued city counselor Andrew Wheaton. The Board of Police Commissioners exists, he said, and it is responsible for any liabilities that might arise out of the Clark lawsuit.

The dueling arguments put Clark鈥檚 family, and all families of people involved in lawsuits against the city, in a difficult spot, said Maureen Hanlon, the attorney representing Clark鈥檚 family. Hanlon argued in court that the city is responsible for any damages in the case, regardless of whether the Board of Police Commissioners exists now or two weeks from now.

Divine鈥檚 decision in the case could have massive repercussions. Earlier this year, a federal jury issued a nearly $19 million verdict against the city in the 2015 shooting of Mansur Ball-Bey. That verdict has not been paid, and the city is now taking the position that all former police department liabilities belong to the state.

Similarly, Lamar Johnson, who was wrongfully convicted of murder, has an ongoing lawsuit that the city argues is affected by the state police takeover.

The difference between the city and the state as defendants has important legal implications. The state has potential sovereign immunity claims that could protect it from liability. The city does not have those protections. Also, the city can be sued in federal court. The state generally cannot.

So even if victims of wrongful police actions win a verdict, collecting the money could become an impossible game of determining who is actually liable. All of that is complicated even more when the Board of Police Commissioners exists and then doesn鈥檛 鈥� unless maybe it does.

In fact, Divine ruled late Thursday that the Board of Police Commissioners does indeed exist, even with Mayor Spencer as its only member. The judge denied the state鈥檚 attempt to withdraw its motion, but he hasn鈥檛 yet ruled on the most important issue of all.

鈥淭he big question here is who is going to be responsible for liabilities?鈥� Divine said.

His answer could decide who pays 鈥� if anybody 鈥� when a SWAT team knocks down the wrong door in 51黑料.