St. Louis County cop charged with assaulting man with baton on MetroLink platform
July 25, 2014
By Kim Bell

A veteran St. Louis County police officer was arrested Friday morning and charged with assault for allegedly using his baton to hit a man in the hand after an argument in April while he was working security for MetroLink.

Dawon Gore, who has been on the St. Louis County police force 13 years, was charged with second-degree assault. Bail was set at $3,500, cash-only.

Police say Gore, who was assigned to the MetroLink detail, was on duty when he got into an argument with Pierre Wilson on the train platform at the North Hanley station on April 21. Wilson asked Gore to help because his girlfriend was missing, according to St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar. Gore told Wilson to contact a department closer to his home, an answer that didn’t satisfy Wilson. The two argued.

The issue was only verbal and it appeared the verbal altercation was coming to an end when Officer Gore charged at him from several yards away and struck him” with his expandable baton, Belmar said.

Gore hit Wilson so hard, court documents allege, that Wilson suffered three broken fingers and required surgery.

Gore took Wilson into the MetroLink platform office, held him there for 90 minutes and refused to get medical attention for him, Belmar said. Then, Gore took him home.

Gore didn’t tell his supervisor about the incident or write a police report, Belmar said.

The department first learned about the incident when Wilson called four days later seeking to have his medical bills paid, Belmar said. Detectives investigated the allegations and turned their findings over to the prosecutor’s office on May 6.

Gore was put on paid leave while authorities investigated, Belmar said. Friday, he was suspended without pay.

This alleged unprovoked use of force outside the bounds of department policy and without cause cannot be tolerated,” the chief said.

Second-degree assault is a felony in Missouri, punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Video surveillance and information from witnesses helped make the case against Gore, authorities say. Authorities said they won’t release the video to reporters because it is evidence in the case. The video showed Gore and Wilson on the platform, but the alleged attack took place out of the view of the camera, authorities say.

Neither Wilson nor Gore could be reached for comment. Court records did not yet list an attorney for Gore.

Gore lives in the 5500 block of Pershing Avenue. Wilson was staying at a hotel in Bridgeton at the time of the incident.

Gore was part of the MetroLink unit from May 2012 to April 2014. Before joining the County Police Department on July 2, 2001, he was a St. Louis city police officer from 1997 to June 2001. He was slightly injured in 2000 when a five-gallon plastic container full of tomato paste plunged through the windshield of his patrol car as it traveled westbound on Interstate 44 beneath the Grand Boulevard overpass.

There were no witnesses, and police were unsure if someone threw the bucket or if it fell off a vehicle.