A judge has batted down the city of St. Louis’ attempt to claw back the $300,000 a jury awarded a former police sergeant who was racially discriminated against by her supervisors.
Former St. Louis Metropolitan Police Sergeant Heather Taylor was awarded the judgment in March after a jury agreed that she had been retaliated against after speaking to the media about how the department hadn't paid the bill for its ShotSpotter technology. She argued that white officers who did similar things were not reprimanded.
Not long after the jury made its award, City Counselor Sheena Hamilton's office filed a motion for a new trial. In that motion they claimed Taylor had in her possession 400 audio recordings, some of which would have altered the outcome of the trial if the jury had heard them. Taylor not disclosing them, the city argued, was a “serious violation” of the city's discovery rights.
Judge Joan Moriarty disagreed with the city's arguments. In an order yesterday, she said the city had to pay Taylor not only the $300,000 in damages but an additional $326,402 in attorney's fees and other costs.
About the tapes that the city alleged Taylor withheld, Judge Moriarty wrote in her order that though some of the recordings may have been responsive to the city's request for materials, they would have not swayed the jury to reach a different decision if they had been played at trial.
Taylor retired from the force in 2020, but was brought back by Mayor Tishaura Jones as deputy director of the city's Department of Public Safety.
The lawsuit represented an awkward personnel issue at City Hall, as one Jones appointee, Hamilton, engaged in hardball tactics against another, Taylor.
It is unclear as of this morning if the city counselor will appeal yet again. However, if they do, the interest and fees on the more than $600,000 Taylor and her attorneys are now due will continue to increase as any further action works its way through through the appeal process.
This story has been updated.
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