Three white St. Louis police officers charged with beating a Black undercover cop were not convicted in connection with the assault. As CNN reported, Officers Steven Korte, Christopher Myers and Dustin Boone were found not guilty for the brutal attack of Officer Luther Hall.
In 2011, Hall attended a protest to record criminal activity in the crowd. As the police attempted to disperse demonstrators with pepper spray and bean bags, he was separated from his partner, and things took a turn for the worse. Cops mistook Hall for a demonstrator, but he kept his identity as a cop a secret to avoid from losing any potential opportunities to work as an undercover officer.
The officers then demanded he get on the ground. According to Hall’s lawyer, the police attacked him as he was trying to comply with their orders, knocking him down multiple times then kicking, punching and striking him with a baton.
The Black undercover cop was reportedly so surprised, he refrained from defending himself in any way. “I couldn’t believe it was happening,” he told the jury before revealing that a sargeant who noticed him saved him from the severe beating.
Hall was taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery to stitch a hole in his lip. He also suffered neck and jaw injuries; his ability to eat solid food was affected for three weeks.
At a recent court hearing, Korte, Myers and Boone were not convicted for their roles in the attack. Korte was acquitted of charges of deprivation of rights under color of law and of lying to the FBI.
Myers was acquitted of a deprivation of rights count; a verdict was not reached for his charge of destruction of evidence. As for Boone, the jury was deadlocked on his charge of deprivation of rights, resulting in the judge’s decision to declare a mistrial.
Officers Randy Hays and Bailey Colletta, who were also involved in the attack, pleaded guilty in 2018. Hays pleaded guilty to one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law for hitting Hall with a baton. Colletta admitted he previously lied to the grand jury about the assault.
Hall and the police department recently reached a $5 million settlement after he filed a lawsuit against them and the involved cops.