Riverview, Missouri – The police chief in Riverview, Brandin Neil, is facing allegations of excessive force, has fired a detective who investigated him, and was reportedly handpicked for his position by a former mayor who was in jail at the time. These issues surface as Riverview’s City Hall and Police Department were furloughed on September 10, with Neil currently one of only two remaining commissioned officers in the town, according to state records. This situation raises significant questions about public safety leadership and accountability for residents.
The decision to hire Neil into the department’s top role came from the city’s now-former mayor, Michael Cornell Jr., while Cornell was held in the St. Louis County jail awaiting trial for alleged sex crimes. This information was revealed through jailhouse calls obtained by investigators. A former Riverview detective, who stated he conducted Neil's background check for Riverview, alleges he was fired by the chief following an investigation that stemmed from that very background check. When asked about the detective's firing, Neil stated in an on-camera interview that he could not discuss the matter as it was a personnel issue.
Neil's past includes multiple incidents alleging excessive use of force, some captured on camera. Two of these incidents resulted in court actions against him.
One such incident occurred on August 8, 2019, while Neil was an off-duty St. Louis City police officer. Security footage from a St. Louis City gas station showed Neil in an argument with a man, Bryan Boyle. The video depicted Neil attempting to tase Boyle and then repeatedly punching him in the head with his handcuffs. Boyle later stated he had simply asked Neil a question about his profession. A St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) Employee Misconduct Report indicates Boyle claimed Neil never identified himself as an officer during the encounter. Neil was charged with third-degree assault, a class-E felony, in this case. In September 2021, a judge found Neil not guilty following a bench trial. Boyle subsequently filed a federal lawsuit against Neil in 2021, alleging Fourth and 14th Amendment rights violations. However, Boyle’s attorney filed to drop the lawsuit in April 2024 after Boyle was fatally shot in his car while waiting at a red light in St. Louis City’s Vandeventer neighborhood. The man police say shot Boyle died inside the St. Louis City Justice Center before going to trial. When questioned about the Boyle incident, Neil provided a written statement saying, “all matters of that case are public record.”
Before the gas station incident, in May 2019, Neil was under investigation for a separate internal affairs complaint while with the SLMPD. He was accused of tackling Abbey Busch, the daughter of Billy Busch, and her boyfriend inside a South City bar. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported this incident was investigated by both St. Louis City Police internal affairs and the circuit attorney’s office. SLMPD stated that under Missouri law, internal affairs investigations into police officers are closed records. Neil was not criminally charged in relation to this May incident, and he left the SLMPD in September of the same year after less than three years with the department. Neil stated regarding the Busch allegations that it “is exactly as stated, an alleged incident that was investigated and found to not be factual.”
More recently, in 2025, Neil was seen on video arresting former Riverview Alderwoman Regina Davis during a town hall meeting. Davis, who was charged with assault for allegedly biting Neil during the arrest, later had those charges dropped. She has since filed a lawsuit against Neil and the city of Riverview, claiming the force used was excessive and unwarranted. Neil declined to comment on active litigation.
This year, a video circulating on social media showed Neil, in a police uniform, punching a man on the ground outside a St. Louis City nightclub. A former Riverview detective identified the man in the video as Neil and stated the incident occurred on March 14. When asked about this video, Neil issued a statement requesting that the entire 25-minute video be shared, claiming it depicted efforts to de-escalate a group, assault on officers, and subsequent resisting arrest.
A recorded jail call conversation between the now-former Riverview mayor and now-former Riverview Alderwoman Judy Jones in April suggested that Neil may have been under investigation by Missouri Peace Officer’s Standards and Training (POST) for an incident during his tenure with the Moline Acres Police Department. Records indicate Neil was with Moline Acres from December 1, 2025, until April 23, 2026.
Despite these allegations and investigations, Neil stated in a written statement that since his return to the Riverview Police Department five months ago, he has worked to bring the department into state compliance, foster relationships with neighboring departments and officials, and attend community events. He emphasized that his ultimate goal was “the betterment of this city and the protection of it’s residents” and committed to continuing his work transparently and efficiently. Defense attorney Eusef Robin Huq, who prosecuted Neil in the 2021 bench trial related to the Boyle incident, expressed surprise at Neil's appointment as chief but hoped he had changed.