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ST. LOUIS — As a protest raged outside the downtown city jail last summer, a member of the jail’s citizen oversight board sat inside the lobby, looking for information.

Janis Mensah, then the board’s vice president, wanted to confirm that an inmate had died earlier in the day, Mensah said. They also wanted to see security footage and get information about the circumstances of the death.

But Mensah, who uses the pronouns they/them, waited for hours and talked to multiple employees without getting the answers they sought. Eventually, employees told Mensah they’d have to go elsewhere in the building — the lobby was going to close.

That’s when jail Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah arrived, briefly spoke with Mensah, then left to call 911, according to testimony Wednesday. Clemons-Abdullah told the dispatcher an oversight board member was refusing to leave.

“They have no reason to be here,� she said, according to a recording played in court.

Police arrived several minutes later, pulled Mensah from a chair, took them to the ground and issued summonses for trespassing and resisting arrest.

On Wednesday, during a five-hour municipal trial, a city prosecutor argued that Mensah, who later resigned from the board, was trespassing on city property and resisting arrest as part of a “stunt� to make a point.

Mensah’s attorneys argued they were doing their job as a member of a board empowered to review detention policies.

“No one had asked me to leave the building,� Mensah testified.

Mensah’s arrest came during a controversial time for the City Justice Center, which sits across South Tucker Boulevard from City Hall downtown. Oversight board members, including Mensah, had complained for months that city officials were blocking access to the facility and refusing to hand over information.

Inmates took a 73-year-old guard hostage for several hours, and lawyers complained that their clients weren’t receiving full meals or showers.

Then, on Aug. 31, jail board members received a report about a second inmate dying in two weeks. Mensah decided to go to the jail to ask about it.

Mensah went through jail security into a waiting area with a posted sign: Visiting hours end at 9 p.m.

Mensah eventually spoke with a member of the jail’s executive staff and deputy commissioner about the request, but the deputy commissioner said she was about to go home, so she wouldn’t be able to show Mensah any footage.

Still, Mensah continued to wait because they said no one had told them to leave. They thought someone else would come out to speak with them.

But at around 8:30 p.m., a jail employee appeared and said the lobby was about to close. Mensah was welcome to stay in the building but they’d have to wait in a smaller area outside of security, the employee said, according to a video of the interaction. Mensah stayed where they were instead.

Eventually, a supervisor called Clemons-Abdullah and her deputy commissioner.

“The lobby is closing,� Clemons-Abdullah told Mensah.

Clemons-Abdullah went to her office and called 911. Mensah said the deputy commissioner said they’d “be right back,� so Mensah didn’t move.

Then two police officers arrived and asked Mensah why they wouldn’t leave. Mensah put on a hoodie and a mask.

As the police approached, Mensah said they “recoiled� into the seat. Police accused them of wrapping their arms around a chair to avoid arrest.

The police pulled Mensah from the seat, and Mensah said they hit their head on the ground. Police said Mensah was tensing their arms to avoid being handcuffed, so they hit Mensah in the back to prompt them to release.

Mensah, however, said they were beaten and taken to a hospital for an evaluation.

City prosecutor Rich Sykora argued that Mensah’s refusal to leave the waiting area despite multiple requests meant they were trespassing on city property.

He said Clemons-Abdullah and others had a duty to secure the jail, which is designed to house people accused of serious crimes before trial, and Mensah didn’t have the authority to stay there.

“You wanted to get arrested that day, didn’t you?� Sykora said to Mensah Wednesday. “This was a stunt.�

Mensah’s lawyers, however, said Mensah was simply trying to carry out their oversight duty under the ordinance and didn’t realize they were supposed to leave until it was too late.

“They believe that the jail administration is considering their request for oversight,� said Maureen Hanlon, an attorney with the nonprofit legal organization ArchCity Defenders.

Mensah later resigned from the jail board along with Mike Milton, executive director of the Freedom Community Center, citing a lack of transparency from city officials.

City officials maintained Mensah and others hadn’t gone through proper training to get access to the facility. Board members have since met with Clemons-Abdullah and earlier this year met with an inmate for the first time.

A municipal judge is expected to make a decision on Mensah’s criminal charges at a later date.