ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis judge said the city is not liable for the death of St. Louis Police Officer Katlyn Alix, 24, who was shot to death by a fellow officer during a Russian roulette-type incident in 2019.
On Aug. 17, Judge Joan Moriarty dismissed the City of St. Louis along with Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Riordan and Gary Foster in their official capacities and Foster individually from a civil lawsuit Alix’s mother filed following her death. The only parties remaining in the lawsuit are Hendren and Riordan in their individual capacities.
Hendren is now in prison and Riordan is no longer with the police department.
“The court finds that there was no tortious act by defendants as Hendren’s actions were of a personal nature and outside the scope of his employment,” Moriarty wrote. “Without the tortious act, there is no need for the defense of sovereign and official immunity.”
On the night of Jan. 24, 2019, Hendren and Riordan were on duty and supposed to be patrolling the city’s Second District. Instead, they went to Hendren’s apartment, which was in a different district, to meet up with Alix. Alix and Hendren were in a romantic relationship, and Alix was planning to divorce her husband of three months – also a St. Louis police officer - according to court documents.
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Hendren and Alix were having an affair and began “dry-firing” a revolver at each other, which had one bullet in it.
Hendren pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of armed criminal action in February 2020 and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
His attorney, Talmage Newton, said he disputes the facts as they are alleged in the civil lawsuit.
“Legal standard requires the court to consider the facts as they are written by the plaintiff, but these facts are still heavily disputed by Mr. Hendren and he will look forward to presenting the exact truth of the events of that night at a jury trial,” Newton said. “Hendren remains contrite and sad about the events of that evening and again offers his condolences to everyone that was affected by his actions.
In April, a federal court dismissed civil rights claims Alix’s family lodged against the City of St. Louis and the officers involved.