ST. LOUIS - Katie Gatewood filed a federal lawsuit on Jan. 24 in the Eastern District of Missouri against the City of O'Fallon, O'Fallon Board of Impeachment, Bill Hennessy as mayor, Dale Kling, Dave Hinman and Jeff Keuhn for alleged due process violations.
According to the lawsuit, Gatewood was a member of the O'Fallon City Council in 2021 when she was removed from the office due to her decision concerning the city's Chief of Police. It is alleged that Gatewood's made an offhanded, innocent statement about doing some information-gathering on the chief which was a violation of a city ordinance prohibiting councilmembers from "directly interfering" with certain City employees and departments.
Gatewood seeks for the court to find defendants in violation of the 14th Amendment, in violation of the First Amendment and enjoining the board and mayor from further action. Gatewood is represented by David E. Roland of Mexico, Mo.
Eastern District Court of Missouri case number 4:22-cv-00089-AGF