St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts allegedly told a bearded deputy he would have to shave — but now it's Betts who might get nicked.
Deputy Joseph Mopkins, who has been with the department since 1994, testified yesterday in court that for years, he never got any hassle from his bosses about having a beard. He said that he has pseudofolliculitis barbae, a condition that causes his skin to be irritated when he shaves. Though the Sheriff’s Department's employee handbook doesn’t allow for beards, Mopkins said he was given an exception for decades.
It’s what happened to change that situation that is now at issue in St. Louis Circuit Court, where Mopkins is suing Betts for retaliation.
Questioned by his attorney, Matt Ghio (who wears a beard and says he has for years), Mopkins testified that for the first two years after Betts took office as sheriff in 2017, he was allowed to keep the beard as usual. However, things changed in January 2019 when the deputy received a subpoena to sit for a deposition in another deputy's discrimination complaint. Mopkins testified that Betts told him not to appear for the deposition, telling him “to stay out of it.”
Mopkins interpreted this as Betts asking him to ignore the subpoena, which is against the law.
“I’m old school,” Mopkins said. “If you don’t show up for jury duty or a deposition, you get in trouble for that.”
Mopkins appeared for the deposition. The very next day, he testified, he was told by a lieutenant that if he wanted to keep his beard he needed to provide an updated doctor’s note, and that the note needed to be updated monthly from now on.
Mopkins said that even though the order was conveyed to him through a lieutenant, he knew it originated from Betts.
Mopkins testified when he confronted Betts, Betts got “irate.”
Later, at roll call, Betts bent over a table in front of the assembled deputies, looked at Mopkins and said, "Do you think that you can fuck me?" He added, "You're not getting shit."
Subsequently, Mopkins said he watched as less-qualified and shorter-tenured deputies were made sergeants, even as Mopkins was passed over. Mopkins' employee evaluations, which for the most part identified him as an employee who was “exceeding standards,” were entered into evidence in the suit. Mopkins testified he lost $30,000 as part of the retaliation against him.
Under cross examination by the city’s attorney, Andrew Wheaton (no beard), Mopkins said that under the previous sheriff, Jim Murphy, a captain had asked him to provide an updated doctor’s note, though Mopkins said the previous sheriff never gave him any trouble about his facial hair.
Mopkins also testified that Betts' brother, Howard, who works for the department, wears a goatee.
Mopkins’ testimony lasted for the majority of the afternoon. The trial began Monday and is expected to wrap up today. The city attorneys representing Betts have sought to highlight interpersonal conflict Mopkins had with other deputies as well as blemishes on Mopkins' record, at one point alleging that he lost his badge three times during his almost 30-year career.
At one point in his time as a deputy, Mopkins said that he did ask a coworker to stop telling racist jokes. The coworker subsequently hid Mopkins’ chair outside by a dumpster.
About the times Mopkins lost his deputy badge, he said that in one instance it was quickly recovered and on another occasion he lost it while going through hospital security to attend to a dire family emergency. The third time he lost his badge, he said, was during department nun-chuck training.
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