ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Police Department has reopened its internal investigation into the assault of former Detective Luther Hall six years after the Black officer was beaten while working undercover during protests by white police officers.
A mixture of at least 10 current and retired St. Louis police officers have been asked to give statements to the Internal Affairs Division, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. Those sources say at least one of the officers asked to talk to internal affairs is Larry O’Toole, who was the interim police chief on the night in question.
5 On Your Side obtained a copy of the letter at least one of the officers received. It was dated May 16, and stated: “In reference to an ongoing internal affairs investigation, Sgt. Tonya Porter is requesting your participation in an interview relative to the incident involving Officer Luther Hall that occurred on Sept. 17, 2017.”
The St. Louis Police Department would not confirm how many officers, past and present have received the letters in recent weeks, saying it’s part of the investigation.
Police Sgt. Charles Wall issued the following statement: “I can confirm that an internal investigation was initiated immediately following the incident. The Department of Justice began investigating the events of Sept. 17, 2017 and they asked that we hold off on our internal investigation so as not to interfere with their investigation. We continued our internal investigation once the investigation and criminal trial proceedings by the Department of Justice were concluded.”
But the federal investigation concluded more than a year ago — when the last of the five officers to be federally indicted for their role in the assault was sentenced to probation in March 2022, said Lynette Petruska, Hall’s attorney.
“Detective Hall is pleased to learn that those who were involved in this beating and or its cover up, to the extent that they're still with the department, might be held accountable, but he's really not hopeful or optimistic that this is going to go anywhere because it's six years after the fact,” Petruska said.
Hall refused to give statements to Internal Affairs when the assault first happened – a point defense attorneys highlighted during the trials for the officers who were federally indicted.
Petruska said Hall had his reasons for staying quiet.
“He knew once he talked to IAD and told IAD what he knew, it would leak to the officers and that information would be used to protect them, not him,” she said.
Petruska confirmed Internal Affairs interviewed Hall in August about the incident, but he hasn’t heard anything about the investigation since until 5 On Your Side contacted his attorney this month.
“Detective Hall's question about all of this is, ‘Why all of a sudden do they have renewed interest in his case? What's happened? What's going on? Why is there being a new focus on the investigation and why is nobody talking to him about it and giving him updates?’” Petruska said.
In all, five officers were federally indicted.
Two – including Randy Hayes and Bailey Colletta – pleaded guilty.
Three – Steven Korte, Christopher Myers and Dustin Boone – went to trial.
Korte was acquitted. 5 On Your Side confirmed he left the department in May – right around the time officers began getting letters from IAD. The department would not confirm whether he was fired, citing personnel decisions are confidential.
Boone and Myers went to trial twice, because a jury hung on their verdicts during the first trial. Ultimately, Boone was sentenced to the penitentiary and Myers pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and got probation.
Hall also sued the City of St. Louis and won a $5 million settlement.
“He did nothing to justify his arrest and he did nothing to justify his beating, and so the police officers that were involved in it should never work in police work again,” Petruska said.
Hall remained on worker’s comp following the assault and retired in March after his disability was approved, Petruska said.
“He's trying to move on, but he has a daily reminder of what happened to him in the physical pain he deals with and not just that, but the emotional impact of all of this,” Petruska said. “Again, he was betrayed by his fellow officers who didn't stand up for him.”
Petruska said her client is hopeful something will come of the internal investigation.
“He didn't want officers out there who were a threat to the public, whether that's done through being put in jail so they can hurt other people or they are removed from the department so they can’t hurt other people,” Petruska said.
The department’s statement concluded: “The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is committed to our core values of Service, Integrity, Leadership, and Fair Treatment to All. We regularly investigate allegations of employee misconduct. If an employee is found to have violated our policy we recommend reinstruction and/or discipline, up to an including termination of employment. If warranted, we refer internal investigations that reveal potential criminal conduct to prosecuting authorities for charging consideration.”