ST. LOUIS COUNTY -- A lawyer for one of three men charged with assaulting an off-duty police officer called the allegations a "creative prosecutorial complaint" at a court hearing Tuesday morning.
Attorney John Rogers said the three men -- Matthew Devlin, Garrett Gibbs and Donnie Hurley II -- did nothing but their jobs on Sept. 26 when they were accused of beating an off-duty officer while using racial slurs.
"This is a case of prosecutors looking out for police officers who are conducting investigations of other police officers," Rogers said after Tuesday's hearing. "This prosecution is overly zealous. The elements of kidnapping cannot be met. The case is overcharged. They ran up multiple counts of armed criminal action based on a fight instigated by a police officer in a construction zone."
Rogers' client, Devlin, 39, is charged with three counts of first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of kidnapping. Gibbs, 23, and Hurley, 42, are each charged with two counts of first-degree assault, armed criminal action and kidnapping.
The three men remained in jail Tuesday. Devlin's bond was initially set at $250,000. Gibbs and Hurley were each held on a $100,000 bond. Judge John Newsham denied all three men's requests to reduce their bonds a few hours after their hearings on Tuesday.
The assault happened about 10:30 p.m. at the intersection of South Lindbergh Boulevard and Lemay Ferry Road, according to charges filed Oct. 4.
The three men are accused of arguing with and then assaulting a motorist who had apparently driven into their construction zone -- the motorist was an off-duty St. Louis County police officer, in plain clothes and driving an unmarked car. According to charging documents, Devlin used racial slurs against the officer and told him he didn't belong there and to "go back to the hood with your gold chain."
Police say Gibbs and Hurley held the officer while Devlin beat him with a hard hat -- the basis for the kidnapping charge, assistant prosecuting attorney Jessica Hathaway said in court Monday. Hurley is accused of then choking him in a headlock with the help of Gibbs and Devlin. The officer pleaded with them that he couldn't breathe, charges said.
Several local and national advocacy organizations condemned the assault over the weekend, saying the white construction workers' attack on the Black officer was a blatant display of racism. They called on prosecutors to prosecute the case as a hate crime.
On Tuesday, St. Louis County police said detectives and prosecutors determined the charges did not meet the requirement for hate crime enhancements.
Devlin is the one accused in the charging documents of using racial slurs. Rogers told reporters he would not confirm whether that language was used in this interaction but said racial slurs are always inappropriate.
Rogers also said that every witness he has interviewed has said the officer, who was not named in charges, threw the first punch. He told the judge Devlin's $250,000 cash-only bond was "nothing short of unconstitutional."
Hathaway, the prosecutor, pushed back on that and told the judge the officer's allegations were backed up by every witness account. She did not address who started the verbal fight but said Devlin escalated the situation to violence.
"I consider him a danger to the community due to this and other incidents he was potentially involved in," Hathaway said.
Brianne Besheer, Gibb's attorney, appeared alongside Rogers.
She echoed the defense attorney, saying the construction workers took a picture of the officer's license plate because he was "a person acting crazy." She said the three men continued working that evening after the encounter.
She asked the judge to reduce Gibbs' bond to $2,500. Rogers requested a $5,000 bond.
Newsham said he would rule after the third defendant, Hurley, appeared in court Tuesday afternoon.
Hurley's defense attorney, Bradley Dede, said Hurley's family, including his two teenage daughters, were in the court supporting him and the man "for years has been a very, very highly demanded employee at his work."
He also criticized the counts filed against the men, calling the case "extraordinarily charged."
He asked Newsham to lower Hurley's bond to $2,000.
Rogers confirmed Devlin is no longer employed with the construction company, but Besheer said Gibbs was arrested while working for the company and believes he still has a job.
The Ethical Society of Police, a St. Louis organization that represents St. Louis and St. Louis County Black police officers, and advocates for equity in the departments, was one of the organizations that released a statement condemning the attack.
ESOP went further, though, and said the officer's agency treated him as a suspect and handcuffed him while "giving weight to the lies of his attackers." The organization said the officer sat at the scene for hours answering questions and was subjected to field sobriety tests.
St. Louis County police Sgt. Tracy Panus said on Tuesday that when police arrived they saw the off-duty officer being held by two men, but responding police at the time did not know he was an officer.
They put the off-duty officer into handcuffs for about 10 minutes and took him away from where the fight happened. He was cuffed until "it was determined the officer was not the aggressor in the incident."
And "due to the accusations of alcohol use" by the person who called 911, officers conducted field sobriety tests on the officer, police said. He did not show signs of intoxication.
Everyone involved was released from the scene that night, police said. The officer was assigned to an administrative role following the incident. By Tuesday he had returned to his full patrol duties, police said.
Rogers, Devlin's defense attorney, told reporters that the witness who spoke with him said that police were at the scene until 3 a.m.
Rogers believes there may be video of the incident.
Organizations say assault on St. Louis County cop echoes 'ugly history of white supremacy'
Construction workers charged with assaulting off-duty cop in St. Louis County