Case Information
*1 Case: 4:20-cv-01807-MTS Doc. #: 21 Filed: 01/08/26 Page: 1 of 2 PageID #: 54
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION JOSEPH MICHAEL DEVON ENGEL, )
) Plaintiff, )
) v. ) Case No. 4:20-cv-01807-MTS
) DESOTO POLICE DEPARTMENT, et al. , )
) Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on review of Plaintiff’s post-judgment motion to reopen. [*] Doc. [20]. Plaintiff is a prisoner who is subject to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and who previously “knowingly and persistently engaged in litigation practices that amount[ed] to abuse of the judicial process.” Engel v. Jefferson Cnty. Sheriff Dep’t. , 4:21-cv-0896-SEP, 2021 WL 4133791, at *3 (E.D. Mo. Sept. 10, 2021). In the instant motion, Plaintiff complains that approximately five years ago, he was subject to harassment by DeSoto Police Officers, and he asks this Court to appoint counsel so that he may proceed with claims against the officers. Plaintiff’s motion is frivolous, and it is consistent with his prior pattern of abusive litigation before this Court. The Court will therefore deny the Motion and direct the Clerk of Court to return any future documents Plaintiff attempts to file in this matter to Plaintiff unfiled.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion, Doc. [20], is DENIED . *2 Case: 4:20-cv-01807-MTS Doc. #: 21 Filed: 01/08/26 Page: 2 of 2 PageID #: 55
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, should Plaintiff submit any additional documents in this closed matter, the Clerk of Court shall return them to Plaintiff unfiled.
Dated this 8th day of January 2026.
MATTHEW T. SCHELP UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
[*] This action was dismissed on March 23, 2021, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). On August 9, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit dismissed Plaintiff’s appeal for failure to pay the filing fee or demonstrate eligibility to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Engel v. DeSoto Police Dep’t , No. 21-2012 (8th Cir. 2021).