St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery will have to immediately begin transporting jail detainees to receive medical care, a circuit judge ordered on Tuesday.
The ruling is in response to the sheriff's request last week for a temporary restraining order on Board Bill 33, a recently passed law that requires the Sheriff's Office to provide such transports and submit to yearlong financial monitoring. Montgomery said the legislation is unconstitutional and challenged the city's ability to define the duties of an elected county office.
The city filed a competing temporary restraining order request in response, arguing that the bill should go into effect immediately due to the potential for irreparable harm.
Circuit Judge Joan L. Moriarty cited short staffing at the city jail as the root cause for denying Montgomery's request. Last week, Deputy Jail Commissioner Tammy Ross testified the jail had 75 of its 133 allocated correctional officer positions filled and, of those, only 27 staffers were firearms trained across three shifts, which is necessary for transporting detainees.
"When officers transport detainees for emergency medical appointments, they leave the CJC short staffed to the extent that detainees must remain in their cells, thus reducing access to rehabilitation and reentry services, showers, and recreation," writes Moriarty in her order. "The record shows that these reductions have resulted in increased tensions amongst detainees which have led to increased behavior incidents including physical altercations."
The question around the legality of the city's bill remains to be decided on another date. The city's temporary restraining order expires Oct. 15.
The St. Louis Sheriff's Office, Mayor Cara Spencer and Alderman Matt Devoti, Board Bill 33's sponsor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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