St. Louis, MO (KSDK) - An officer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has come forward to admit taking a cell phone photo of a slain shooting suspect and making it public.
St. Louis Police Chief Dan Isom said Monday the offending officer, a member of the SWAT team, will be disciplined. The photo, of 35-year-old Carlos Boles, went viral last week.
Boles shot and killed US Deputy Marshal John Perry on the morning of March 8 when Perry, Deputy Marshal Theodor Abegg and an unnamed St. Louis police officer, attempted to serve Boles with an arrest warrant.
Boles had been wanted on charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer and drug possession. Boles allegedly opened fire on all three men and was killed in the exchange.
Deputy Marshal Perry was pronounced dead that evening at 7 p.m. at St. Louis University Hospital. Perry, who'd been with the U.S. Marshals for almost 10 years, was 48.
Deputy Theodor Abegg, 31, was shot in the ankle and is being treated at Saint Louis University Hospital. The unnamed police officer was hit in his bulletproof vest and grazed by the ricochet. He was treated and released from Barnes Jewish Hospital.
Boles, the suspected shooter, had a prior criminal history, including drug and assault related charges.
Isom said department's internal investigation will continue to determine if any other department employees who received the photo forwarded it to anyone else. If confirmed, those employees may also be disciplined.
The St. Louis Police Department released the following statement about the picture last week:
"This photo is incredibly distasteful. While various agencies had access to the crime scene and we cannot be sure who may have taken this photo, our Department's policies are crystal clear-the only photos our personnel are to take at any crime scene are those that are for investigative purposes. Anything otherwise is completely inappropriate and unacceptable. While we cannot speak for the FBI or the U.S. Marshals, surely their policies are similar. Actions like this threaten the professionalism and integrity of ALL law enforcement. There is an ongoing Internal Affairs investigation to determine if a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department employee took the photo and if so, the offending employee will absolutely be disciplined by this Department."
KSDK