SandyMaloneSt. Louis, MO – A St. Louis alderman was arrested on multiple warrants after he rear-ended somebody in his car on Monday afternoon.
Police responded to the scene of the collision, and upon running his license, learned that St. Louis Alderman John Collins-Muhammad had five active St. Louis city bench warrants and one fugitive warrant from Jefferson City, KMOV reported.
Collins-Muhammad, 26, was cited for failing to display proof of insurance, following another vehicle too close, and driving with a suspended license in the case of his March 12 car crash.
He was arrested at the scene for his outstanding warrants.
The St. Louis Justice Center confirmed that Collins-Muhammad remained in custody as of Tuesday afternoon, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Jefferson City authorities had not yet determined whether they would transport Collins-Muhammad to face charges in their town.
Records showed the Collins-Muhammad had been arrested by Florissant police in September for an outstanding warrant for driving while his license was suspended, just weeks after a St. Louis city police officer let him go following a traffic stop, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
He was stopped for a traffic violation at about 7:20 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2017. Florissant police ran his license and learned he had a warrant for driving while his license was suspended.
Collins-Muhammad was booked into the Jennings jail on a warrant for his arrest there stemming from a February 2016 case in which he was ticketed for driving with a revoked license and failed to appear in court, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Ironically, Collins-Muhammad has been vocal about traffic safety issues in his ward in north St. Louis, and warned drivers to slow down on a specific street in August because there would be a greater police presence in the area.
On Aug. 14, 2017, St. Louis police stopped Collins-Muhammad for speeding on that exact street, but he didn’t get a ticket.
The officer let the alderman off with a warning, according to a statement issued by St. Louis Police Department spokeswoman Schron Jackson.
That officer now faces the possibility of discipline for that decision, and the Collins-Muhammad got the ticket anyway, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“The driver of the vehicle has since been contacted by the department and informed that he would also be issued a summons for driving on a suspended license,” the statement said. “While officers can use discretion, the department does not sanction the initial decision of the officer as it relates to this traffic stop.”
“The department has taken the necessary action to address this matter,” Jackson said. The city issued Collins-Muhammad a ticket for driving on a suspended license on Aug. 17, 2017.
Collins-Muhammad told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that his arrest Monday stemmed from an unpaid parking ticket when he was a student; however, the state’s records told a different story.
The Missouri Department of Revenue listed multiple arrests of Collins-Muhammad for driving with a suspended license. The arrests go back to 2014 and occurred across the state.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that in September, Collins-Muhammad had three outstanding unpaid tickets.
The first was for a speeding ticket issued in Pine Lawn in April 2011 for traveling 43 mph in a 30 mph zone. The second arrest was for driving with a suspended or revoked license in Ferguson in October of 2015.
The third arrest was for driving while suspended or revoked, but it took place in St. Louis in May 2016. In the third arrest, his license had been revoked in November of 2014 after a number of moving violations and his failure to appear for court dates, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Collins-Muhammad was elected to the city’s board of aldermen in the spring of 2017, and has made it very clear he was not a police supporter.
In September of 2017, he incited protests in the city and helped pass a resolution honoring a dead drug dealer after former officer Jason Stockley was acquitted in the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith.
“Until Black people in this city get justice. Until we get a seat at the table. There will be no peace in this city,” he said at the time. “Everywhere you look, black people are being shot down by police, cops get off, get a pay raise, and nothing happens… JUSTICE OR ELSE!”
In October of 2017, Collins-Muhammad lobbied hard against a proposed resolution thanking St. Louis police officers for their work during recent riots.
“This resolution is ‘BS,’ and a slap in the face to black progress and a salute to white supremacy!” Collins-Muhammad said.
“We have a police department that is corrupt, racially divided, and a police department that has a problem when it comes to interacting with the black community,” he said.