ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the law licenses of two former St. Louis prosecutors for covering up a police beating of a handcuffed suspect in 2014.
In a unanimous opinion, the court suspended Katherine Anne “Katie” Dierdorf and Ambry Schuessler. Dierdorf cannot apply for reinstatement for three years. Schuessler will be suspended for at least two years.
The court’s ruling cited “the severity of Ms. Dierdorf’s misconduct as a result of her dishonesty and instruction of others to conceal information about the incident” and Schuessler’s “repeated dishonesty during and interference with the federal prosecution of the police detective” in their decision.
In an emailed statement, Dierdorf lawyer Michael Downey called the suspension “inconsistent with the facts, its own precedent, and what is appropriate to protect the public and maintain the integrity of the judicial system in this case.”
He said Dierdorf had “promptly and repeatedly attempted to remedy her earlier misstatements but was rebuffed by her supervisors” and that she voluntarily produced thousands of text messages to the FBI.
The incident that started it all was the beating of a handcuffed suspect, Michael Waller, by then-St. Louis police Officer Thomas A. Carroll on July 22, 2014.
Read the rest here: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/two-ex-prosecutors-law-licenses-suspended-for-covering-up-st/article_264eb233-dfed-5f93-b86d-8957a2450eda.html