A St. Louis man who says he was unarmed when an officer shot him in the back last year is suing the city, which already has to pay out millions in shooting judgments.
Vincent Simmons filed a federal lawsuit last week against the police board and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer who shot him. The officer shot Simmons while Simmons was using both hands to climb a wood fence, the lawsuit says.
The shooting unfolded March 8, 2025, in north city. Officers initially responded to a call about a truck's license plate being tied to a felony stealing case in Richmond Heights. The truck fled, leading to a pursuit, before it crashed in the 5000 block of Kingshighway. Simmons got out and ran, police said at the time.
Two officers chased Simmons into an alley. They had no reason to believe Simmons was armed, according to his lawsuit. One of them found Simmons "crouched in the corner" of a backyard before he got up to climb a fence. That's when an officer fired at least twice, striking Simmons in the back and injuring his stomach and other organs, his attorneys said.
Simmons survived the shooting and was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Police at the time said a weapon was recovered from inside the truck. Simmons was charged and recently pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and a drug charge. Prosecutors had also charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm but later dropped the charge.
Simmons' lawsuit alleges excessive force, among other claims. St. Louis police declined to comment on the pending litigation.
St. Louis already owes millions from police shooting judgments.
Last month, a jury awarded $37 million to a man who was shot by police in 2016 when he was 14 — believed to be one of the largest police shooting judgments in Missouri. The city also owes millions to the family of an 18-year-old killed by police in 2015.
And earlier this week, an attorney for the family of 17-year-old Emeshyon Wilkins released body camera footage that contradicted the police narrative of his 2024 killing.
Testifying last month before a Missouri Senate committee, Mayor Cara Spencer noted one of the recent police shooting judgments and said there were dozens of outstanding civil cases against the city.
"These are judgments that often carry very, very significant costs, and they are a large burden to us," Spencer said.
The city is suing to strike down a Missouri law requiring a state board to oversee its police department.
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