ST. LOUIS – From refusing to answer dozens of reporter questions Monday to getting worked up in his request for more money in a budget hearing, St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery still has a chance to restore trust, according to budget chairman Rasheen Aldridge.

“People want to make sure the Sheriff’s Department is run safely,” Aldridge said. “They want to make sure that our inmates are being transported in a proper way, so this isn’t the end of a relationship.”

Questions persist about recent expenditures—such as all new uniforms, patches and badges. 

FOX 2 has asked how much it costs. We’re still waiting for a response.

Concerns also remain about the Sheriff saying he wants to take on the duties of other agencies. 

The St. Louis Sheriff is responsible for court security and serving processes.

Sheriff Montgomery told the budget committee Monday that if there’s an emergency, “I’m coming!”

“That’s really a problem,” Attorney Bevis Schock said.

Schock is part of an anti-corruption group called the Holy Joe Society, which has asked for Sheriff Alfred Montgomery’s removal from office.

“It’s called an ouster suit,” Schock said. “Isn’t that a great name—oust him—that Mr. Montgomery, Sheriff Montgomery, will get a lawyer and the question is—is he going to have that in his budget?”

Schock says the Sheriff working outside his lawful duties could cause emergency response problems—“because to have an orderly society we have different government jobs. They’re supposed to coordinate with each other.”

The Holy Joe Society has called on the City Attorney, Missouri’s Attorney General or the St. Louis Circuit Attorney to take action on removal.

Gabe Gore held a news conference about his office’s progress since taking over as Circuit Attorney and had this to say about his potential power to intervene in the controversy over the Sheriff.

“I intend to look at the law and the facts, evaluate it, and exercise my best judgment,” Gore said.

He did not say where that might lead. The Attorney General’s Office has not responded.

The Sheriff did not get his budget wishes answered this week. 

He’ll return to make another request as questions mount over sheriff operations.