ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) – Missouri State Representative Rasheen Aldridge and 14 St. Louis residents filed a lawsuit to appoint an independent oversight board for the city’s corrections facilities.
The petitioners, which consist of local medical professionals, attorneys, community leaders, and a former resident of St. Louis City corrections facilities, filed a lawsuit days after the latest uprising at the St. Louis City Justice Center (CJC). Detainees busted out the building’s windows and began throwing items out the third-floor window Sunday. Video captured several items being set on fire as a crowd gathered outside of the streets on South Tucker Boulevard. According to commissioner of corrections, Dale Glass, detainees appear to have compromised cell locks as they did during the previous unrest in February.
PHOTOS: Sunday night unrest at City Justice Center
Image showing a fire outside of the City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis on April 4, 2021.
Windows were broken at the City Justice Center on April 4, 2021.
A person holding a sign outside of the City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis on April 4, 2021.
Debris on the floor after an uprising at the City Justice Center on April 4, 2021.
Detainees seen in broken windows at the City Justice Center on April 4, 2021.
People outside of the City Justice Center after detainees broke windows on April 4, 2021.
Items were thrown from windows by detainees at the City Justice Center on April 4, 2021.
A detainee pouring a liquid out of a window at the City Justice Center on April 4, 2021.
A broken window at the City Justice Center on April 4, 2021.
Detainees at the City Justice Center on April 4, 2021.
Detainees begin breaking windows in the St. Louis Justice Center during a riot in St. Louis on Sunday, April 4, 2021. About 60 inmates were able to escape their cells to break windows, yell to people on the streets and set small fires. Police finally gained control after about 15 minutes. A similar riot occurred in February. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Police survey damage after detainees broke windows, set fires and threw chairs to the street in the St. Louis Justice Center during a riot in St. Louis on Sunday, April 4, 2021. About 60 inmates were able to escape their cells to break windows, yell to people on the streets and set small fires. Police finally gained control after about 15 minutes. A similar riot occurred in February. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Detainees are lead away in handcuffs after breaking windows in the St. Louis Justice Center during a riot in St. Louis on Sunday, April 4, 2021. About 60 inmates were able to escape their cells to break windows, yell to people on the streets and set small fires. Police finally gained control after about 15 minutes. A similar riot occurred in February. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Detainees throw chairs from the third floor after breaking windows in the St. Louis Justice Center during a riot in St. Louis on Sunday, April 4, 2021. About 60 inmates were able to escape their cells to break windows, yell to people on the streets and set small fires. Police finally gained control after about 15 minutes. A similar riot occurred in February. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
A St. Louis firefighter sprays water to extinguish a small fire after detainees broke windows in the St. Louis Justice Center during a riot in St. Louis on Sunday, April 4, 2021. About 60 inmates were able to escape their cells to break windows, yell to people on the streets and set small fires. Police finally gained control after about 15 minutes. A similar riot occurred in February. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
The lawsuit alleges each county in Missouri has the authority to appoint a civilian Board of Visitors to regularly inspect the jail facilities, ensure detainees are treated humanely, and report any findings to the court. Mayor Lyda Krewson announced a corrections task force will investigate the complaints from the detainees and investigate how it got out of control. On March 12, the task force concluded that “the most urgent priority is to create an independent Corrections Oversight Board” but the recommendation has not been implemented.
“A Board of Visitors would play a key role in ensuring proper and constitutional treatment of those in City custody,” the lawsuit read. “Several of the signatories to this petition have witnessed inhumane conditions or inadequate medical treatment in St. Louis City correctional institutions or have received reports of poor conditions from individuals housed in the City’s jails.”
Read the full text of the lawsuit below:
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