Superseding Indictment Charges Another St. Louis Police Officer for Civil Rights Violations and False Statements to the FBI

St. Louis – A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today against three St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) Police Officers for their conduct in connection with the arrest and assault of a fellow SLMPD police officer who was working undercover in downtown St. Louis during protests following the 2017 acquittal of a former SLMPD officer of a first-degree murder charge brought by the State of Missouri relating to the shooting death of a civilian. 

The superseding indictment added Officer Steve Korte, 42, charging him with civil rights violations and providing false statements to the FBI.  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.  The charges include deprivation of constitutional rights, obstruction of justice and perjury.

During the protests, SLMPD officers were deployed throughout the area to monitor protest activity and respond if necessary.  According to the indictment, on the evening of September 17, 2017, a SLMPD police officer was working in an undercover capacity in downtown St. Louis in order to document any criminal activity being committed during the protests.  Around 10:00 p.m. in the area of 14^th Street and Olive Street near the St. Louis Public Library, SLMPD Officers Boone, Myers, and Korte approached the undercover officer, forcefully brought him to the ground, and violently beat him causing severe injuries that have required multiple surgeries.

Randy Hays pled guilty on November 8, 2018 to deprivation of constitutional rights and will be sentenced on March 17, 2020. Bailey Colletta pled guilty on September 6, 2019 to false statements to the grand jury and will be sentenced on April 10, 2020.

Officer Myers also faces a Destruction of Evidence charge for destroying the cellular phone of the beating victim on the night of September 17, 2017.

Officers Boone, Myers, Korte are each charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury, which is a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242.  That charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both imprisonment and a fine.

Officer 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.

The evidence destruction charge carries maximum penalties of twenty years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. 

As is always the case, the charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.