April 24, 2025
(St. Louis, MO) – Represented by ArchCity Defenders, Del-Rio Swink, an activist, cancer survivor, and woman with disabilities, is filing a civil rights lawsuit against St. Louis police for use of excessive force and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In November 2022, Ms. Swink was in the process of picking up medication from a Walgreens Pharmacy when she was toppled out of her chair and dragged across the floor by Thomas Love, a Berkeley police officer moonlighting as a store security guard for Allied Services. Ms. Swink suffered severe physical injuries there and while transported by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) to the hospital. The lawsuit also names Walgreens; the City of St. Louis; and SLMPD officers, Alfred Allmon, Trevor Krepps and Kristine Stark as defendants.
“I never thought people who are supposed to serve and protect would treat me this way,” says Swink. “ArchCity Defenders are helping me navigate through one of the worst experiences of my life.”
A link to the complaint can be found here.
A video of her experience can be found here and below.
“None of the police officers involved took Ms. Swink seriously when she told them she was disabled and needed help. This is disturbing not just for Ms. Swink, but because many of the people police officers interact with are individuals living with disabilities,” says Ebony McKeever, staff attorney at ArchCity Defenders.
Ms. Swink, who lives with chronic pain and has limited mobility in her arms, legs, and back due to chemotherapy, was sitting in the waiting area of a Walgreens pharmacy when she was confronted by and initially injured by Love, who aggressively intervened in a minor misunderstanding between Ms. Swink and the pharmacy assistant. On a live video recorded by Swink, she can be heard saying, “I’m complying” and “I didn’t do anything.” However, Officer Love continued to handcuff and then drag Ms. Swink on the floor. Ms. Swink experienced extreme levels of pain and discomfort and pleaded with police to stop. When SLMPD arrived, they refused to call Ms. Swink an ambulance. Instead, they proceeded without caution or consideration of Ms. Swink’s injuries and disabilities when transporting her to the hospital.
“The growing presence of private security in a region already heavily saturated with police increases the risk of escalation and harm to everyday people trying to make it through their to-do list and make it home safely,” said Z Gorley, ArchCity Defenders Communications Director.
Prior to this case, ArchCity Defenders has filed 52 lawsuits between 2014 to 2024, alleging unlawful practices in 20 municipalities spanning across eight counties. Often working with local or national co-counsel, ArchCity Defenders filed 75% of these cases between 2014 to 2019. As of July 2024, 34 cases settled, four were dismissed, and 14 remain pending. In total, the federal courts have ordered defendants to pay $26.7 million in monetary damages to thousands of people impacted by systemic abuses sanctioned by local governments through their systems of police, courts, and jails.
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Media Contact:
Z Gorley, Director of Communications, ArchCity Defenders
zgorley@archcitydefenders.org
(314) 643-2463