A Jefferson County man is suing the City of St. Louis, nine sheriff’s deputies and five police officers in federal court for allegedly beating him, improperly detaining him and illegally seizing his property.
Christopher Williams — who says he was injured and physically disabled after an injury at his Anheuser-Busch job in September 2020 — had found a “renewed sense of purpose in life” through peacefully protesting at public places and buildings.
Last May, Williams saw the news that Donald Trump had been indicted on 34 felony counts for hush money payments made to an adult film actress.
On April 19, 2023, he headed downtown to the St. Louis Civil Courts Building with a sign in tow that read, in part, “Hush $$$ for Side Chicks” to protest Trump running for president after the news broke of the indictments, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in the Eastern District of Missouri.
After a contentious verbal exchange with a sheriff’s deputy regarding the sign on the steps of the courthouse, the lawsuit claims Deputy Sheriff Donald Hawkins told him, “Since you’re gonna get smart, now you are going to get off my steps.”
Williams alleges at least half a dozen sheriff’s deputies exited the courthouse, circled him and told him to leave because he could not protest there. The lawsuit states Williams refused, claiming he had a right to be there and was not impeding traffic nor bothering the public.
He filmed the incident on his phone and a camera on his hat, but his lawyer declined to share the footage with St. Louis Public Radio.
The lawsuit alleges Hawkins then told Williams not to film him and punched him when he didn’t stop. At that point, the group of law enforcement officials closed in on Williams, pulled his arms in different directions and thrust him to the ground. They allegedly then piled on top of the disabled man.
“You asked for it,” one deputy allegedly told Williams, with another saying Williams was “acting like a dumb fool.”
Sheriff’s deputies detained Williams, and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived to investigate the incident.
Williams claims that deputies began to tell an SLMPD investigator false information and that internal policies didn’t allow protests on the steps of the Civil Courts Building.
One sheriff's deputy report said Williams took "an aggressive violent assault action" against Hawkins. A later report by a St. Louis Metropolitan police officer states that after reviewing video of the incident Williams did not attempt to punch any of the sheriff’s deputies during the altercation.
A series of sunshine requests by Mark Timmerman, Williams’ attorney, did not produce any sheriff’s office policies or procedures that would limit First Amendment activity in that space.
When released from a sheriff’s holding cell, Williams noted his memory cards were missing from his hat-worn camera. Staffers from the St. Louis Sheriff’s Office denied having any knowledge of the missing memory cards.
Williams was subsequently arrested for trespassing and disturbing the peace. The citation said he “refused to leave [the] front of civil courts building then caused a disturbance when detained by Sheriff’s deputies.” He was taken to St. Louis University Hospital for medical treatment.
The lawsuit alleges Williams was later pressured by a St. Louis Municipal Court prosecutor to sign a waiver that would waive his rights to take legal action against the city and its officers. When Williams refused, the city dismissed the cases against him.
The lawsuit contends the law enforcement officers’ actions reflect “deliberately indifferent practices, customs, and training," as well as the selective enforcement of ordinances that infringe on First Amendment rights.
The actions of the law enforcement officers, the lawsuit alleges, were due to “deliberately indifferent practices, customs, and training” and selectively enforcing ordinances that infringe on First Amendment rights.
A city spokesman declined to comment on the pending litigation on Friday. Williams’ attorney declined to comment further on the case because the “complaint speak[s] for itself.”
The lawsuit claims St. Louis law enforcement agencies have historically and improperly arrested people for engaging in First Amendment-protected activities — such as political speech and filming law enforcement — while citing peace disturbance and trespassing ordinances.
The lawsuit cites an October incident when a St. Louis Public Radio photojournalist was forcibly removed from photographing in a public area outside the Civil Courts Building. Outgoing Sheriff Vernon Betts, at the time, defended the department’s actions.
Williams is seeking unspecified costs and damages, attorney’s fees and a jury trial in the Eastern District of Missouri.
