51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� A top official at the downtown jail is suing the city鈥檚 sheriff over a confrontation last month in which the sheriff marched into the jail, demanded access to a detainee and handcuffed the jail鈥檚 deputy commissioner when she refused to grant him access.

Deputy jail commissioner Tammy Ross accused Sheriff Alfred Montgomery in a suit filed on Wednesday of battery, unlawful arrest and violating her civil rights during the confrontation at the City Justice Center on Feb. 14.

鈥淭he arrest of Deputy Commissioner Ross was made without legal justification and without a warrant,鈥� the suit says.

The sheriff鈥檚 lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Montgomery barely won a bitter race for sheriff against incumbent Vernon Betts, beating him by 221 votes out of about 45,000 cast, after months of mud-slinging and name-calling.

Wednesday鈥檚 suit marks the latest controversy for Montgomery, who has been in office for roughly three months.

On Jan. 17, after just three weeks on the job, Montgomery threatened .

A few days later, Montgomery threatened to fire a former deputy unless he rolled a 鈥渟even鈥� with a pair of gold dice that the sheriff kept in his desk drawer.

And on Feb. 13, an investigation began into accusations that a sheriff鈥檚 deputy had repeated illegal sexual encounters with a City Justice Center inmate.

Montgomery requested to interview the detainee that day and again on the 14th. But Ross, the jail chief, said she鈥檇 need to check with the city鈥檚 legal and public safety departments, according to her lawsuit.

That鈥檚 because Montgomery鈥檚 office, unlike other sheriffs across the state, does not run the jail or perform general law enforcement duties. Instead, sheriff鈥檚 deputies transport prisoners to and from court, provide courthouse security and serve legal papers.

Most deputies are not licensed law enforcement officers, and state law only allows them to do some law enforcement if it is 鈥渋ncidental鈥� to their customary duties.

But on Feb. 14, Montgomery marched down to the jail and insisted he wanted to see the detainee. When Ross refused, Montgomery announced she was being held 鈥渋n contempt,鈥� and ordered a deputy to handcuff her behind her back, according to the lawsuit.

He ordered the deputy to take her to his office in the Carnahan courthouse and made unidentified 鈥渢hreatening statements,鈥� according to the lawsuit.

Montgomery then called the city鈥檚 public safety director, Charles Coyle, and they talked about whether Montgomery had the authority to arrest Ross, the suit says. Montgomery maintained he did and said he would detain Ross for 48 hours.

But at some point, the suit says, the sheriff鈥檚 lawyer, Blake Lawrence, whispered something into Montgomery鈥檚 ear. They released Ross a short time later.

Lawrence said last month that the sheriff鈥檚 office acted lawfully. They believed evidence related to the internal investigation was at risk of being destroyed, so they took action to prevent it, he said.

And Montgomery claimed that Coyle gave him permission to detain Ross 鈥� an allegation Coyle vehemently denied.

鈥淎t no time and under no circumstance did I give a directive to allow Sheriff Montgomery or his staff to interview a detainee,鈥� Coyle said at the time.

The sexual assault allegations are being investigated by 51黑料 police, and the FBI is looking into the confrontation between Ross and Montgomery, said 51黑料 police Chief Robert Tracy at a news conference Wednesday. Both investigations are ongoing.

Ross鈥� lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount of damages. A hearing has not been set in the case.