New St. Louis sheriff blames rocky start on predecessor

ST. LOUIS — The first couple days of the new city sheriff's tenure have started on a rocky note. He's blaming his predecessor.

Sheriff Alfred Montgomery says former sheriff Vernon Betts and his staff took files and cabinets, furniture, keys, books and other vital information on their way out the door earlier this week, capping off what Montgomery called a non-existent transition that has left his staff scrambling to catch up.

He spent his first days in office figuring out operations, payroll and asking for entry codes and files, he said. 

"We're spending our entire day figuring out what's missing and how we can move forward," he said in an interview.

Meanwhile, the former sheriff, Betts, said he was lounging in an easy chair at home, watching TV, enjoying his first few days of retirement. He said he hadn't taken anything from the office except personal belongings. All of the files were left behind, he said.

"What files would I take and what would I do with them?" he said. "It don't make sense."

Montgomery, a former deputy, was sworn into office Wednesday after defeating Betts in a Democratic primary. He takes over an office in charge of transporting prisoners between jail and court, providing courthouse security and serving legal papers, including eviction notices and protection orders.

Betts and Montgomery fought a sometimes bitter campaign with both accusing each other of being unprofessional. Montgomery, who was fired as a deputy by Betts after announcing a run for sheriff in 2019, accused Betts of squandering taxpayer money and running a shoddy operation. Betts called Montgomery a "lying sack," and accused him of being unqualified. 

The acrimony continued even after Betts conceded defeat.

Montgomery accused Betts in news stories of blocking his efforts to transition into office before his official swearing-in. He said Betts wouldn't talk to him or teach him about office operations. Betts said there was no need for a transition at all.

On Tuesday, Montgomery filed for a restraining order to force Betts to leave the downtown courthouses, stop destroying property and "immediately relinquish" the sheriff's office.

An employee said in a sworn affidavit that one of Betts' employees took filing cabinets from the office last month and loaded them into an SUV. Another said they saw Betts walking out of the building with a box under his arm. Still another said he was berated by Betts when he tried to pick up a uniform.

Judge Paula Bryant on Tuesday ordered the sheriff's office locked pending Montgomery's swearing-in on Wednesday, and set a hearing for Thursday on the accusations.

Montgomery said he arrived on his first day, on Wednesday, to find only a stack of legal papers in the office. He said there was furniture missing. He didn't have the codes to enter some rooms.

He and his staff started taking an inventory. He also spent time getting ready for an inaugural ball he hosted at Union Station later that evening. 

The party was thrown as a gift to his campaign, Montgomery said. It was, he said, a sign of the positive morale he was building in the office. 

Montgomery has overhauled the department's top brass, promoting roughly a half-dozen people from within the department to those positions and bringing others in from the outside. He previously delivered notices to Betts' commanders that they'd be out of a job when he was sworn in.

The department also has about 30 deputy applications pending — some of which are from people who left for other police departments or previously retired, Montgomery said. 

"It's a different administration," he said. "I believe in working together as a team. We want to bring our morale up."

On Thursday, Montgomery's lawyers appeared in court on their request to force Betts to turn over anything he took from the office.

Betts' lawyer, Elkin Kistner, said his client would cooperate as soon as he got a list of the missing items. He also noted that Montgomery's lawyers hadn't filed an actual petition, so the suit should be dismissed.

Blake Lawrence, the chief lawyer for Montgomery's office, agreed to dismiss the case. He said they were still creating a list of items and would re-file the lawsuit if the former sheriff didn't cooperate. 

"We're going to give them a certain time frame," Montgomery said. "If they do not deliver, we will file again — something different — and hold them accountable for their actions. No one is above the law."

Betts said he didn't have anything to give them.

"I'm just trying to ease on down the road," he said. "I'm 72 years old. I don't want to work as hard as I've worked these last eight years."