ST. LOUIS- A former St. Louis sheriff’s deputy alleges that the new sheriff illegally took his gun after a false allegation, claiming he was impersonating an officer. 

Darryl Wilson said he was forced to resign shortly after the election of Alfred Montgomery, who was sworn in as sheriff in January. 

“(Montgomery) specifically told me that he was going to get rid of me once he takes office,” Wilson said. “Honestly, I really think it’s a politics thing.”  

Wilson said that resigning was not good enough for the sheriff, who he claims showed up to the gas station where Wilson was working security at about 8 p.m. on Jan. 17.

“He said, ‘Hey, we’re going to place you under arrest until we do an investigation,’” Wilson said. “I said, ‘Excuse me? What do you mean, under arrest?’” 

Wilson alleged the sheriff demanded his personal gun, which prompted him to immediately call the police. 

“(Montgomery) has no power whatsoever to take my weapon. That’s when I immediately called the police,” he added.

A police report of the incident concluded that “Wilson did not have any clothing that would signify him impersonating a sheriff deputy…Wilson’s personally owned firearm and security license were returned to him.” 

Sheriff’s Capt. Anthony Anderson was there with Sheriff Montgomery that night. 

“It was not vindictive,” Anderson said. 

Wilson’s security job is one of 33 Anderson’s checked for the sheriff–and the gas station, in this case–had expectations Wilson did not meet. 

“That post is for a deputy sheriff—not a security company,” Anderson said. “(And) the security company, through my investigation, says that’s not one of their posts.”  

This situation surrounds Montgomery demanding Wilson’s gun, according to Anderson.

“It was a safety precaution,” he said. “We didn’t know how he was going to react, you know, if he was going to lose it at that time.” 

FOX 2 followed up, asking if they had the right to take his gun. 

“No, we did not,” Anderson said.  

We also asked if the sheriff had the authority to arrest him, in which Anderson answered not having recollection of Montgomery stating he was going to arrest Wilson. 

The St. Louis Police Department has now stepped in, telling us it has referred the case to the FBI for investigation, along with a separate incident from last week in which Sheriff Montgomery reportedly handcuffed a St. Louis jail administrator for refusing the sheriff access to the jail.

FOX 2 will follow both cases.