Former De Soto Police Officer James A. Daly has been sentenced to two years’ probation after a jury found him guilty of assaulting a handcuffed man while he was being booked, court records show.
Jefferson County Div. 4 Circuit Judge Brenda Stacey on Jan. 30 sentenced Daly to six months in jail for each of the two class A misdemeanor fourth-degree assault charges and to 15 days in jail for a class C misdemeanor fourth-degree assault charge. However, Stacey suspended the sentences and placed Daly on probation, court records said.
A Jefferson County jury found him guilty of those charges in November. Jefferson County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Courtney Goodwin prosecuted the case.
Daly of Imperial on Sept. 30, 2020, allegedly held a handcuffed prisoner by the hair and throat. He then pushed the victim onto a bench and held the prisoner by his neck on the bench for “a period of time,” the case’s probable-cause statement said.
Investigators reported that the victim said his airway was restricted while Daly allegedly held the man by his throat, the report said. Court records said the victim died on Sept. 18, 2021. His death was not related to the alleged assault.
In November 2020, De Soto Police Chief Jeff McCreary requested the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the incident, and later that month, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against Daly, court records show. In December, De Soto Police released a video of the incident.
Former De Soto Police Officer Bethany Zarcone pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault due to her role in the incident.
She was accused of kneeing the prisoner during the booking process in the De Soto Police Station, according to the probable-cause statement in the case.
Zarcone of Farmington was placed on two years’ probation after Stacey suspended her 90-day jail sentence, court records show.
In 2022, Daly sued the city of De Soto and Chief Jeff McCreary claiming the Police Department retaliated against him and violated his right to free speech when he was fired for setting up a cemetery decoration featuring a crucifix with the epitaph referencing Michael Brown, according to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri documents.
The decoration referenced the 2014 killing of the 18-year-old Black man by a white police officer in Ferguson that sparked months of protest and unrest.
The 2022 lawsuit also said Daly faced retaliation for raising concerns to supervisors on behalf of a female city employee who said she had been sexually harassed.
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in October 2023, and the appellate court upheld the decision in June 2024. The Missouri Supreme Court declined to hear the case on Jan. 14, according to court documents.