Jody Jordan was shot numerous times inside a Bel-Ridge home on Smithfield Place after a burglary call escalated into a shooting, and his family says they learned the graphic details of his death not from a phone call, but from a video posted on Facebook. Jordan later died at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, and now his relatives are accusing Normandy Police of releasing surveillance footage of the killing before ever reaching out to notify them directly.
According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Kim Bell, officers responded to a reported burglary in the 4200 block of Smithfield Place, and that call was upgraded to a shooting once police found Jordan inside the home. The surveillance clip released by Normandy Police shows Jordan holding a gun and knocking on the door of the home before he was shot, and the department posted a 24-second version of that footage on Facebook. Because Bel-Ridge contracts all of its municipal police services through the Normandy Police Department, Normandy officers were the ones who responded to the call and have handled the investigation since.
Jordan's family says they went to the Normandy police station themselves to ask for an update on the case, only to later discover the video had already gone public. Family members described the department's post as disrespectful, and separate reporting on Facebook from RealSTLNews indicates relatives felt they were left to learn about the shooting through social media rather than through direct notification from investigators.
Chief Defends Timing, Calls Video a Transparency Move
Normandy Police Chief Tameika Sanders said police waited nearly two weeks to tell the public about the homicide, according to a department press release cited by the Post-Dispatch. Sanders said transparency does not require compromising an investigation, and she stated there is no threat to the public. Police say they have talked with Jordan's family and are working with prosecutors on the case, and Normandy Police said they are investigating the shooting in a professional manner.
Normandy Police released the video two days after some family communication had already occurred, per the timeline reported by the Post-Dispatch, though the family maintains the post itself came without adequate warning. Missouri law generally treats law enforcement mobile video recordings as closed records during active criminal investigations, and state statute requires agencies to give individuals depicted in footage 10 days' advance notice before public release unless a court orders otherwise, according to Lewis Rice LLC. Separately, Article I, Section 32 of the Missouri Constitution and RSMo § 595.209 grant violent crime victims and their next of kin the right to be informed of major case developments and to confer with law enforcement during an investigation, per the Missouri Department of Public Safety.
Why Charges Haven't Been Filed Yet
No charges have been announced in Jordan's death, and the case's slow pace may trace back to how Missouri law treats home-defense shootings. Under the state's Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground statute, RSMo § 563.031, an occupant is permitted to use deadly force without a duty to retreat if they reasonably believe someone is attempting an unlawful entry or committing a forcible felony like burglary, according to David Naumann & Associates. That legal framework helps explain why police and prosecutors often move cautiously on burglary-related shootings before filing charges.
Jordan's family described him to the Post-Dispatch as an entrepreneur who invested in properties, created a towing service, ran his own cleaning business, and had recently worked at an Amazon warehouse. Chief Sanders has led the department since being appointed permanent chief in February 2023 after 15 years with Normandy Police, becoming the department's first Black female police chief, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Second High-Profile Case for Normandy Police This Month
This is not the only homicide investigation drawing scrutiny of Normandy Police's charging process this month. Earlier in August, the department handled the case of 28-year-old Domino's worker Dominique Hoskins, who was shot in a parking lot, and that case initially resulted in evidence-tampering and gun charges rather than murder. Normandy Police provide contracted law enforcement to several small North St. Louis County communities, including Bel-Ridge and Cool Valley, generating more than $1.3 million in police and court contract revenue for the city in its fiscal year 2025 budget, according to the City of Normandy.
Families of homicide victims in the region sometimes look to county-level investigators for additional resources, since the St. Louis County Police Department's Bureau of Crimes Against Persons provides specialized homicide investigation support and crime lab analysis to nearly 90 municipal departments across the county. St. Louis County Police investigated 71 homicides across its patrol areas and contracting municipalities in 2020, up from 66 the year before, with investigators noting that minor interpersonal disputes have increasingly escalated into fatal shootings across North County communities.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)