Another St. Louis police officer has been indicted in the arrest and assault of black undercover cop Luther Hall during a protest downtown in September 2017. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer Steve Korte, 42, is accused of violently beating Hall and lying to the FBI about his involvement in the arrest, according to the indictment released on December 12.
Korte is the fifth officer indicted in Hall’s beating. Officers Dustin Boone, 36; Christopher Myers, 28; Randy Hays, 32; and Bailey Colletta, 26, were indicted in the initial indictment filed on November 29, 2018.
A police spokesman said the department does not speak on pending litigation. Korte was hired on June 6, 2011 and is currently on administrative leave without pay, the police spokesman stated.
John P. Rogers, Korte’s attorney, told The American, “Steve will enter a not guilty plea on December 20. A trial date will be set soon.”
On September 15, 2017, former officer Jason Stockley was acquitted of a first-degree murder charge in an officer-involved shooting, and protests immediately ensued throughout the city.
At a September 17, 2017 protest downtown, Hall was working undercover to document any criminal activity, the indictment states. At about 10 p.m. near 14th and Olive streets, Officers Boone, Myers, and Korte allegedly approached Hall, brought him to the ground, and “violently beat him causing severe injuries that have required multiple surgeries,” the indictment states.
Hays pled guilty on November 8 to deprivation of constitutional rights — the same charges that Boone, Myers and Korte face — and will be sentenced on March 17, 2020. Colletta pled guilty on September 6 to false statements to the grand jury and will be sentenced on April 10, 2020. Boone and Myers have pled not guilty.
The indictment included the text messages sent between Boone and Myers prior to the protest, stating they were going to “have fun” beating up the Stockley protestors and expressed “excitement about using unjustified force against them.”
Hays’ guilty plea agreement goes into more detail of Hall’s assault than the new indictment. According to Hays’ plea, footage from a pole camera shows that there was very little protest activity at the intersection of 14th and Olive streets. The officers were walking in pairs, with Myers and “Officer A” walking in front and Boone and Hays behind them.
Terri Dougherty, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said she could not confirm that Korte was the “Officer A” mentioned in Hays’ plea. That information will become clear in Korte’s trial or plea agreement.
During the officers’ walk on 14th Street, city SWAT vehicles began shooting pepper balls at individuals who were near the St. Louis Public Library, according to Hays’ plea. As a result, several people began running, and the officers ran towards them — even though Hays admitted that he did not witness anyone committing a crime or have probable cause to arrest anyone, the plea states.
Hall had been standing on the corner of 14th and Olive streets, and Hays did not witness anything that gave the officers probable cause to arrest Hall, Hays’ plea states. The four officers and others thought that Hall was a protester, and proceeded to arrest and assault Hall, “using physical force that was both unnecessary and unreasonable,” the plea states.
Hays saw “Officer A” kick Hall squarely in the face, while the undercover cop was “prone on the ground, compliant, not posing a physical threat, and not saying a word,” the plea states.
In the new indictment, Korte, Boone and Myers are accused of kicking Hall while he was “compliant,” and beating him with a riot baton.
According to Hays’ plea, a cell phone recording captured Hays and “Officer A” giving orders to Hall to put his hands out.
In Korte’s indictment, it states he allegedly lied to FBI agents when he claimed that he had not yelled at Hall: “Hands out!” Korte even listened to a recording of his voice and allegedly denied that it was him to the F.B.I., the indictment states.
According to Hays’ plea agreement, several officers were pinning Hall down in a small area between the portable generator and the curb. Boone allegedly had his knee on Hall’s shoulder and was continually pushing down Hall’s head, while telling Hall not to look at him — thus making it difficult for Hall to comply with the order to put his hands out.
Hays admitted that he delivered three to five strikes to Hall’s body with his riot baton and forcefully shoved Hall to the ground. Throughout the encounter, Hall did not do anything to warrant arrest or the use of any physical force and remained silent, the plea states. Nonetheless, Hays, Boone, “Officer A” and other officers used unreasonable force against Hall, which resulted in bodily injury.
Boone, Myers, Korte are each charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both imprisonment and a fine. Korte is also charged with providing false statements to the FBI, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both imprisonment and a fine.
While there have been five officers indicted in the undercover cop’s assault, there have been no indictments in the cases of more than 100 other people who allege they were wrongfully beaten and arrested by police that same night.
Heather Taylor, president of the Ethical Society of Police, said then-interim police chief Lawrence O’Toole and other commanders allowed the behavior, and they have escaped consequences.
“This is a small glimpse of what they did,” Taylor said. “There’s no telling how many protestors they beat and haven’t been charged for.”
