A video shows an SUV blowing through a red light and hitting two pedestrians without braking while driving about 70 miles per hour. The video appeared to be a cell phone recording of a police surveillance video being played on a separate computer monitor. Monte Henderson, 22, of Kirkwood, is…
ST. LOUIS — A city police officer illegally recorded and shared police surveillance video of a downtown crash that killed a mother and daughter visiting from Chicago, charges released Thursday say.
Wreckage of a vehicle is seen near North 18th and Olive streets in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ last week, after police say a driver sped through a red light, hit at least one other vehicle and struck two pedestrians, who died.
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Griffin Montgomery, 30, logged into a police database last year and recorded a video of a crash, which he later shared on the social media platform SnapChat, charges say, even though he wasn’t involved with the investigation.
A recording of the crash showing an SUV blowing through a red light, hitting another vehicle and slamming into Laticia Bracero, 42, and her daughter Alyssa Cordova, 21, eventually made its way to local media outlets and was shared widely on social media where it sparked outrage from people concerned about reckless driving in the city.
It also raised questions about the case of Monte Henderson, who was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, armed criminal action and driving while intoxicated in the crash.
“It’s disappointing and rather senseless,†Henderson’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, said Thursday. “It certainly makes the ability to get a fair and impartial jury more difficult.â€
Charges say Montgomery logged into the police department’s Real Time Crime Center, which is a network of cameras and license plate readers from around the city, on Feb. 14 from the department’s North Patrol call room.
He then recorded the video, charges say. It showed the northwest corner of the intersection of Olive and North 18th streets.
Police spokesman Mitch McCoy declined to comment on Montgomery’s status at the department but said “appropriate disciplinary action will be taken if an officer is found to have violated policy.â€
Montgomery was hired by the department in 2019 and made $71,000 last year, according to the .
An attorney for Montgomery was not yet listed in court records. He was issued a summons to appear in court on a single charge of misuse of official information by a public servant, a misdemeanor.
Monte Henderson, the driver of the SUV that caused the crash, pleaded guilty Tuesday to four felonies in the deaths of Laticha Bracero and her…
Wreckage of a vehicle is seen near North 18th and Olive streets in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ last week, after police say a driver sped through a red light, hit at least one other vehicle and struck two pedestrians, who died.
