Independence school board critic was wrongly jailed. At last, his charge is dismissed | Opinion
Score one for free speech and the right to speak critically of those in power — a basic tenet of American democracy.
Last month, a criminal trespass charge filed against Jason Vollmecke of Independence was dismissed by the city’s prosecuting attorney Mitchell Langford.
It defies logic why Vollmecke was found guilty of trespassing in municipal court last May. He rightfully appealed the decision at the circuit court level. Without explanation, the case was dismissed in February.
I don’t know why Independence dropped its case against one of the district’s more vocal critics — messages to Langford and city spokeswoman Meg Lewis were not returned.
It remains a mystery why Vollmecke was arrested and put in a jail cell for hours to begin with. Legally, he did nothing wrong. I mean, he spoke out of turn at a school board meeting. Vollmecke wasn’t violent, didn’t threaten anyone, nor did he destroy property. Should addressing the board without permission result in criminal charges? Of course not.
But the threat of arrest is one way to silence a dissenting voice.
Why not just remove the offender from the premises with a warning? That didn’t happen. Instead, Vollmecke was escorted from the Jan. 10, 2023, meeting, arrested for trespassing and hauled off to jail.
I contacted Jackson County Circuit Court officials about the dismissal but was referred to Independence Municipal Court. I won’t hold my breath waiting for a response from the city. Perhaps prosecutors knew the flimsy case would not hold water in circuit court.
Vollmecke said neither he nor defense attorney Ron Holliger was given a reason for the sudden about-face. Citing ongoing litigation in a civil rights lawsuit he filed against the Independence School District Board of Education, Vollmecke declined further comment.
Had Vollmecke’s criminal conviction in municipal court stood, the heavy-handed approach to dissent exhibited by Superintendent Dale Herl would have most likely continued unabated.
I reached out to Herl and attorneys representing the school district via email seeking more clarity on the arrest. I was told Herl did not instruct the district’s former public safety director Dennis Green or school resource officer Chris Brayer to arrest or remove Vollmecke from the school board meeting that night. I remain skeptical.
Given the choice to have Vollmecke taken to jail or issued a written summons to appear in court, Herl chose the more punitive option, according to court records in the civil rights lawsuit.
Vollmecke’s attorneys with the First Amendment Clinic at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis declined to comment.
“Mr. Green and SRO Brayer made that decision on their own, based on their own assessment of the situation,” school district attorney Ryan VanFleet wrote in email.
Plausible deniability aside, Herl wasn’t an innocent bystander in this legal mess.
Earlier this year, a federal judge overseeing Vollmecke’s civil lawsuit issued a preliminary injunction reversing a one-year building ban Herl issued to Vollmecke, a physician and school board candidate.
Other patrons of the district charged with trespassing or banned from district property should take note of U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beth Phillips’ ruling. Although each case may be different, I firmly believe prohibiting a parent or adult from entering school grounds for unjust or arbitrary reasons could be viewed as an abuse of power.
Having folks arrested on trumped up accusations and taken to court is decidedly un-American.
Parents can be banned from campus without appeal
In Independence, Herl is judge, jury and executioner when it comes to these matters. The school board has empowered him to issue building bans without as much as an option to appeal.
That must change.
I’ve tracked developments in both cases. This is not a full indictment of Herl. But according to text messages that day between the two, Green asked Herl if he wanted Vollmecke to go to jail or issued a summons, according to court records.
Herl replied: “Jail if you can.”
By the way, Green is also running for school board.
That Herl wanted Vollmecke sent to the slammer is unfortunate. Silencing folks this way is wrong.
On Tuesday, Independence voters will be asked to fill three seats on the seven-member school board. Vollmecke and Green, a retired Independence Police Department captain, are among seven candidates on the ballot.
Board president Eric Knipp and board member Carrie Dixon are incumbents clearly aligned with Green, according to campaign literature sent to my mailing address in Independence.
Three others, Wendy Baird, Zac Harmon-McLaughlin and Brandi Pruente are also on the ballot.
Vollmecke ran for school board once before but was unsuccessful. He has been a constant thorn in Herl’s side. He has not spared the school board either, speaking out against the district’s four-day school week, the board’s lack of transparency and other issues he doesn’t agree with.
Despite Vollmecke’s incessant objections, he did not deserve the trespass charge brought against him. It shouldn’t take a federal lawsuit to remind Independence school district leaders or court officials of a person’s right to speak freely without the threat of being arrested.
