On September 26, 2024, an African-American off-duty police officer was brutally assaulted by multiple members of a road construction crew in an attack driven by nothing less than racial hatred. The vile behavior of these individuals echoes the ugly history of white supremacy that plagued this country decades ago.
As details of this ongoing investigation come to light, the facts are clear and appalling. The officer was preparing to turn from South Lindbergh onto Lemay Ferry Road, which was not properly marked by road closure signage, when a road construction worker approached his vehicle. What should have been a brief, uneventful exchange took a dark turn when Matthew Devlin, one of the suspects, began hurling racial slurs and striking the car with an object. When the officer exited the vehicle, Devlin, without hesitation, struck him in the head with a hard hat as other crew members joined in. The air was thick with hatred. They spat on him and derogatory slurs like “stupid n****r” filled the space as the vicious attack unfolded.
This assault was compounded by the heartbreaking mishandling of the situation by the same agency that should have been an ally to this officer—the St. Louis County Police Department. When officers arrived at the scene, the off-duty officer—who had been beaten, humiliated, and degraded—was treated not as a victim but as a suspect. Despite his pleas, despite the obvious signs of his innocence, officers chose to detain him, handcuffing him while giving weight to the lies of his attackers.
For hours, he stood there, bloodied and bruised, answering questions, subjected to field sobriety tests, while his attackers’ words were treated with undeserved credibility. The officer was eventually released, but the damage had been done—not just to his body but to the trust that should exist between an officer and his department. This treatment is a stain on the integrity of the justice system, and it demands immediate redress.
What transpired on that September night is a stark reminder that we are not as far removed from the horrors of the 1950s as we might think. The racial slurs, the physical violence, the degradation—these are the tools of hatred used by white supremacists then, and they are the tools still wielded today. We will not stand silent while the specter of the past rises to haunt the present. This assault is more than a crime; it is an affront to our humanity, a blatant act of racial terrorism meant to intimidate and demean.
The actions of the suspects must be met with the full force of justice. We demand that the charges against these individuals be reevaluated under Missouri’s Hate Crime Statute. Their words and actions are not just an expression of violence but of a deeper hatred that must be rooted out and condemned. They must answer for their crimes not only as assailants but as perpetrators of racial violence.
Furthermore, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) must immediately terminate all contracts with the construction company involved in this incident. It is unacceptable for any entity that condones or enables this type of behavior to operate on our public roadways. The safety of every citizen—particularly those in marginalized communities—must be prioritized. This is not just about one company; it is about ensuring that no one can commit such heinous acts without consequence.