ST. LOUIS • A jury last week acquitted a police sergeant on misdemeanor property damage charges, but his future with the department remains unclear.
Sgt. Jason Love, 43, was with three counts of property damage after he slashed the tires on two vehicles parked outside a convenience store on June 20, 2012, and shattered the glass door to the business while he was assigned to the department’s Rapid Deployment Unit.
During the three-day trial, which ended Friday, Love admitted causing the damage, but said it was all part of reasonable police tactics he used to try to capture three men who had ducked inside the business, even though they knew he was a police officer, said his attorney, Talmage Newton.
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The jury took less than two hours to find Love, a more than 15-year police veteran, not guilty on all charges, Newton said.
“The defense came down to justification,†Newton said. “He wanted to prevent a vehicle chase, so he disabled the cars.â€
The incident was captured by surveillance cameras at the business at 3400 Goodfellow Boulevard. In the video, a man can be seen walking into the business. Seconds later, Love walks up to the door and begins kicking it, shattering the glass. A few minutes later, Love can be seen standing next to the tires on a Dodge Ram pickup as another officer stands next to him, and Love appears to be touching the tire.
Love has been suspended without pay since Oct. 25, 2012.
Internal Affairs has recommended Love be fired for violating “reasonable standards of courtesy with the public,†Newton said.
Police Chief Sam Dotson has yet to rule on the recommendation. When he does, Love can accept or appeal. Should he appeal, his case could be the first to go before the city’s civil service commission. As of Sept. 1, .
The civil service commission will be hosting a public hearing tonight at 5 p.m. in Room 746 of the Mel Carnahan Courthouse downtown to discuss policies and procedures involving police discipline matters. The commission is expected to vote on whether to adopt them next week.
Love is the fourth of 11 police officers Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce has charged with a crime since 2009 who have been acquitted at trial. Four cases still are pending and three have been found guilty, according to a statement from Geri Dreiling, spokeswoman for Joyce.
Newton was critical of the circuit attorney’s prosecutions.
“Jennifer Joyce’s office is dependent on police officers as their number one witnesses for their cases, and I find it interesting that with such a high degree of frequency, her office is trying to micromanage the way these police officers do their job,†Newton said. “Her track record with these last few cases shows that she’s not making the right charging decisions.
“I hope she’d take the message, but I’m not so optimistic.â€
Dreiling said prosecutors are “disappointed†in the jury’s verdict in Love’s case, and argued that Department of Justice statistics show that police officers are harder to convict than the general public.
“However, conviction rates should not deter prosecutors from holding someone accountable for breaking the law,†she wrote.