BALLWIN, Mo. – Hundreds of people’s names were run through a criminal justice database in the last few years without probable cause, according to Ballwin law enforcement.
A Ballwin police report accuses former Chief Douglas Shaeffler of sometimes searching without a legitimate law enforcement reason in the Regional Justice Information System (REJIS).
A heavily redacted police report gives clues about who was searched. The clues are in small pieces surrounding mostly blacked-out details. Those clues include a citizen’s “ex-wife,” someone’s “daughter,” “husband and wife Hispanic business owners,” and a “friend with owner of Circle 7” Ranch restaurant.
Citizens Matthew Conlon and Michael Scott found out they were searched after showing up at council meetings.
“Why am I being searched? What criminal activity have I done? It seems like Big Brother to me,” Conlon said.
Scott added, “I didn’t know until recently to even ask. The thought never occurred to me that I’d be a victim.”
Scott’s name was reportedly searched after he asked about the police drone program.
“I wanted to know what constitutes justified, because that’s really easy to abuse that,” he said. “It seems like now I was pretty much on the money.”
Former Alderman Kevin Roach was searched at least twice, according to the Ballwin police report, adding, “Roach is also a participant in the Missouri Safe at Home Program” so that his “address is kept confidential.” The police report continues, “(Former Chief) Schaeffler had stated several times he was attempting to learn where Roach moved.”
The former alderman told us, “Doug Schaeffler was on the job in Ballwin for 955 days. We know from the police report that 1,236 people were run by him in the criminal justice database. That’s more than one person every day.”
Roach hired Clayton attorney Mark Pedroli, who filed a class action petition against Ballwin and the former chief, to get more answers.
“The bigger concern is all the other residents of Ballwin,” Conlon said.
“You should be able to freely speak your mind, as long as you do it in a proper fashion,” Scott said.
The City of Ballwin responded on social media with a statement that says, in part, “At no point was former Chief Doug Schaeffler directed to perform any illegal searches by city staff or city officials. These potentially illegal searches were one of several reasons why the former chief was terminated…”
Schaeffler is now suing Ballwin, alleging wrongful discharge and saying he was denied due process. We’ve reached out to his attorney for further comment and have not heard back.
Ballwin has sent its investigation to prosecutors. To avoid a possible conflict of interest, the case is now in the hands of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office for consideration of possible criminal charges. If you call Ballwin directly, a representative can find out for you if your name’s been run, but the easiest way to check is to email your inquiry to cityclerk@ballwin.mo.us.
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