The incoming St. Louis sheriff has notified more than a dozen senior staffers that they will be fired the day he takes office.
Alfred Montgomery passed out termination letters to at least 13 lieutenants, captains, majors and colonels serving under Sheriff Vernon Betts on Wednesday morning.
“As you are aware, a new administration will be taking office on January 1, 2025,” the letter reads in part. “This letter serves as official notice of termination of your employment at the City of St. Louis Sheriff’s Office, effective January 1, 2025.”
This is only the latest in the contentious relationship between the two. Their interactions have been filled with name-calling, threats and refusals to transition power since Montgomery edged out Betts in the Democratic primary in August.
Betts said he is disturbed by this move toward employees who have served decades under his leadership.
“Who has the audacity to come into this building and start handing out letters to my deputies — not [Montgomery’s],” Betts said. “He has no authority to hand anybody anything. But, he has assumed that authority because he's been given that privilege by some of the judges and other folks who are supporting him.”
There will be more terminations in the coming weeks, Montgomery said. He anticipates retaining two senior employees out of nearly 30 leaders.
Montgomery said letting the staff know with plenty of time to look for new jobs and use paid time off is a “courtesy from the sheriff-elect.”
“We have to move this office forward,” he said. “We can't risk the threats that we're getting from the current administration as far as destroying property or services … before I come into the office.”
Betts rebutted the claims and said he will be leaving Montgomery the keys to the office when he is sworn in on Jan. 1. The sheriff even had a meeting planned with his successor’s team on Thursday that he will not be attending after today’s actions.
"Now, these people got to go home today and share this information with wives and husbands and family and all that, that they're going to be terminated," he said. "So people will be upset."
Until then, Betts said he and his team will continue to work for the citizens of St. Louis.
“We're going to come in here, do our job, do it well, and then get our money and go home,” he said. “But you know, with this hanging over their heads … how do you come in and do a job and do it well, when you know you're going to be terminated in 28 more days?”
Montgomery said he plans on filling the vacancies with seasoned law enforcement veterans from the St. Louis region.
“I do want to see better from our sheriff's office,” he said. “If that's what it takes to clean up the office — to add different people and more people into that office — that's what I'm willing and ready to do.”
