Detective Antonio Valentine
Officer: St. Louis County Police Department, Detective Antonio Antoine Valentine
Date: 12/1/2021 Location: Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO FACTORS (1,2,5,8,11,14)3?
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Alfred Mayes
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, Mayes had prior convictions for attempted robbery, domestic violence, and an open case for drug possession./ Yes, Mayes was driving a stolen vehicle and fleeing from the police.
Mental Illness: None stated, but Mayes actions were suicidal.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Yes, Mayes had a prior narcotics related arrest./ Likely yes since the drug unit was surveilling Mayes and attempted to pull him over.
Race/Sex/Age: Black/Male/33
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At approximately 2:30 p.m. on December 1, 2021, drug unit detectives with the St. Louis County Police Department attempted to stop a stolen Volkswagen Jetta being operated at a high rate of speed in a residential area by Tyler Mayes.
Actions taken by subject toward police: Mayes refused to pull over, instead taking officers on a high-speed pursuit. When Mayes observed an unmarked police vehicle approaching from the opposite direction, he steered the Jetta over the center median line and crashed into the detective’s vehicle headfirst, killing Detective Antonio Valentine and injuring his partner.
Reactions by the police: Responding officers assisted in getting the two detectives to the hospital where Det. Valentine was declared dead, and his partner was assessed with minor injuries. Mayes died in the crash.
How murdered? Det. Valentine was crashed into head-on by a suspect fleeing police in a stolen vehicle.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? There is not much an officer can do when a suspect decides to drive headfirst into a police vehicle at a high rate of speed.
Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? At such a high rate of speed combined between the two vehicles, the officers never had a chance to use deadly force.
Outcome for the cop-killer: Mayes was killed in the collision.
Miscellaneous: Det. Valentine was an Army Combat Veteran who served in Iraq and leaves behind four children.
