BELLEVILLE – Two former East St. Louis police officers have filed a lawsuit against the department, demanding back pay after they were suspended without pay for months.
Plaintiffs Albert Harris and Robert Sallie filed the lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against the City of East St. Louis and the City of East St. Louis Police Department.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs were employed as police officers by the defendants. On March 31, they were allegedly suspended without pay and remained suspended until they resigned on Nov. 21, 2022. The plaintiffs allege that state law holds that a chief of police can only suspend an officer for "a period of not more than 5 calendar days." Therefore, the plaintiffs have demanded pay for the period of April 8 through Nov. 21.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus court costs and any other relief the court deems proper. They are represented in this case by attorney Edward J. Szewczyk of Pratt & Tobin, P.C. in East Alton.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 23LA0135