ST. LOUIS — Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Saturday waded into the controversy over the release of a domestic assault suspect by ºüÀêÊÓƵ police last month, accusing Mayor Tishaura O. Jones of insulting the alleged victim in an exchange on social media.
Schmitt retweeted a KSDK (Channel 5) on the sharply worded Facebook exchange, saying Jones is “a national embarrassment. Insulting victims. Defunding the police. Unbelievable.â€
“Learn how government works then you can talk. â€
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt)
The ºüÀêÊÓƵ Mayor is a national embarrassment. Insulting victims. Defunding the police. Unbelievable.
Nick Dunne, Jones’ spokesman, didn’t comment Saturday on Schmitt’s political attack.
But he said the mayor in the Facebook exchange “made it clear that she had no involvement in the decision†to release Mac Payne, who was charged later the same day by prosecutors with two felony counts of domestic assault.
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Moreover, Dunne noted that the mayor had expressed concern to the woman for what had happened to her.
Jones’ interim public safety director, Dan Isom, has acknowledged that the release of Payne, 36, on Jan. 4 before he was charged was a poor decision and that a police internal investigation is underway to determine why it happened.
However, Isom has denied a police union attorney’s accusation that the release was due to a Jones administration policy shift in which many suspects are released after they test positive for COVID-19. No such policy change has occurred, he asserted.
Payne was rearrested Jan. 21 and released Jan. 24 after a judge allowed him to post bail.
The victim initiated the Facebook exchange on Jan. 26 after she noticed an online video of a woman dancing that some people had speculated was Jones.
The woman posted the video on her Facebook page with a comment saying “she has time to dance but not care about†her constituents’ needs. “Tishaura O. Jones can definitely go to the nearest hell,†she added, tagging Jones’ personal account.
Jones later responded by saying “that’s not me!! Now what you got to say?â€
The woman then complained that “you can respond to this but not the fact that YOUR policies and YOUR judges are letting violent criminals out because of covid.â€
Jones, in response, said she doesn’t appoint judges. “Learn how government works, then you can talk. #GurlBye.â€
The woman then posted that “it doesn’t help getting snippy with me†and that she had sent “a couple quite pleasant emails nearly begging you to assist with this person being locked back up.â€
Jones then replied by saying she never got the woman’s email.
“And seriously, I’m sorry for what happened to you,†the mayor continued. “But don’t come for me like this and not expect me to respond the same way you came at me.â€
The woman’s next post says she is “seething because if it was a woman of another color her abuser would still be in jail.â€
The woman, like the mayor, is Black.
The woman goes on to say she knows everyone is presumed innocent “until proven otherwise†but that “my skin and my child’s eyes saw what happened.â€
According to a probable cause statement filed by police, the woman said Payne pushed and struck her and threw a pot of hot soup on her, resulting in burns. Payne has pleaded not guilty.
Jones responds by saying “again, I don’t control the courts. Or who gets prosecuted or let out of jail.â€
The mayor adds: “You’re directing your anger at the wrong office. The circuit attorney controls who gets prosecuted. Judges are appointed by the Governor.â€
The woman in a telephone interview Saturday night said she still hasn’t gotten a reply from the email she had sent to the mayor’s office.
Jones and Schmitt, in a series of tweets, have clashed previously over their differences on police issues and mask mandates.
She denies being an advocate of defunding the police but moved last year to delete money earmarked in the police budget for long-vacant positions.
Jones, a Democrat, and her aides have repeatedly accused Schmitt of attacking her to help his campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
Jones’ health department has issued an indoor mask mandate to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus; Schmitt has gone to court to attempt to get it overturned.
Originally posted at 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5.