Former Missouri police chief sentenced for excessive force in bizarre baby dispute

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The former police chief in a small southeast Missouri town has been sentenced to nine months in federal prison for using excessive force against a woman who was involved in a domestic dispute.

Marc Tragesser, 55, former chief in Marble Hill, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge of deprivation of rights.

On Nov. 25, 2018, Tragesser went to the woman’s home with the paternal grandmother of the woman’s children. He falsely claimed he had a court order allowing the grandmother to take the children, according to his plea agreement.

When the woman asked to see the court order, Tragesser shoved her and handcuffed and also arrested her boyfriend, according to the plea.

He detained the woman in his police car for 90 minutes until she agreed to allow her children to go with the grandmother, who had no custody or visitation rights, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a news release.

Earlier in the day, Tragesser threatened to arrest the homeowners and allowed the grandmother to take property from the home, including some that did not belong to her son.

The woman did not see her children again until March of 2019.