ST. LOUIS — Within the next 24 hours, we could learn the names of the St. Louis police officers whose cases prosecutors will no longer pursue.
A judge is weighing whether to make their names public.
The city’s top prosecutor, Kim Gardner, questioned the credibility of 28 officers on the police force and put their names on an exclusion list, created by her office.
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The city’s police union wants the judge to block the release of the officers’ names, saying releasing them could ruin the reputation of the officers.
Wednesday, both parties met in court for a hearing to resolve the issue. The circuit attorney's office asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that they never intended to release the names publicly unless by court order when an officer is involved in a criminal case.
The union argued it can't trust that the city would follow through on its promise to conceal the officers' names. They also argued the exclusion list could affect dozens, if not hundreds of cases already making their way through the court system.
According to a statement released by police Tuesday, the department and the prosecutor’s office agreed to meet regularly to ensure better communication.
Late Wednesday afternoon, St. Louis police chief John Hayden addressed this issue.
He confirmed "some" of the officers on the list are still on active duty, and are currently out on the streets.
The judge is expected to make his decision within the next 24 hours. He said if the two sides can get together and agree on their own process to block the names, he'll highly consider that option.
