Ellis C. Brown III, 32, of High Ridge was sentenced to six years in prison for his actions as a St. Ann Police detective during a 2019 arrest, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
U.S. District Court Judge Audrey G. Fleissig sentenced Brown on Nov. 22. On June 11, a jury found Brown guilty of deprivation of civil rights under color of law following a three-day jury trial in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Missouri, the report said.
In April 2019, Brown was seen in surveillance video repeatedly kicking a victim who was lying on the parking lot of US Bank at the corner of Natural Bridge Avenue and Kingshighway Boulevard in St. Louis. Brown was the head of the St. Ann Police detective bureau when the incident occurred, according to the report.
The incident followed a high-speed chase that began in north St. Louis County and ended in a car accident at the bank. Brown and other St. Ann Police officers pursued the victim during rush-hour traffic for more than 20 minutes, reaching speeds exceeding 115 mph, according to the press release.
Two St. Louis Police officers intervened and stopped Brown from continuing to kick the suspect following the chase, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“Ellis Brown flagrantly abused the trust our community and his peers placed in him,” U.S. Attorney Sayler Flemming said in a written statement in June. “I hope Brown’s conviction serves as a deterrent for other in law enforcement who might think about abusing their power.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, and assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman handled the case.