Four St. Louis cops were indicted Thursday for the beating and coverup of an undercover cop during an anti-police brutality protest last year.
The cops thought he was a protester, so they figured they had the right to abuse him and get away with it.
But he turned out to be an undercover cop from their own police department, a 22-year veteran identified as Luther Hall, who has been unable to go back to work since the beating.
One of the cops destroyed Hall’s phone in an attempt to destroy evidence, so Hall appears to have been recording, according to the indictment, which can be read here.
The incident took place on September 15, 2017 during protests following the acquittal of St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley in the shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith. A journalist was also arrested that night.
The cops who are accused of physically abusing him are Dustin Boone, Randy Hays, Christopher Myers. A fourth cop, Baily Colletta, who was in a romantic relationship with Hays, is accused of providing false statements to federal investigators about the beating.
Prior to the beating, the cops exchanged messages expressing disdain for protesters and looking forward to beating them.
“It’s gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of these (expletive) once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart!!!!” ” Boone said in a message
The cops are also also accused of trying to intimidate L.H. from following through with is complaint.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
The undercover officer is identified only by the initials “L.H.” The age, gender and initials match only one officer: Luther Hall. Hall was working undercover aiding other officers in identifying criminal activity, sources said.
At the time of the assault, police sources said Hall suffered a bloody lip during his arrest.
But sources close to Hall said Thursday that injuries from the assault were much more extensive. He has not been able to return to work.
Hall was kicked in the face, which inflamed his jaw muscles to the point where he could not eat. He went from about 185 pounds to 165.
The cut above his lip was a two centimeter hole that went through his face.
He also sustained an injury to his tailbone, which still causes him pain, the sources said.
And in October, he underwent surgery to repair two herniated discs in his neck and one in his back. He is still wearing a collar to keep his neck immobile.
The following is a collection of messages sent by Boone prior to the beating.