ST. LOUIS — Chief Robert Tracy spent some of his time going on the defense for his department against allegations from St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s Office during a press conference Friday about his first 100 days on the job.
Twice within the last few weeks, Gardner has accused the police department of not handing over evidence to her prosecutors in a timely manner after two cases fell apart.
“I can tell you when requested, the information has been handed over in a timely manner to get a case ready,” Tracy said.
Tracy also talked about several of his other priorities and said crime in some categories across the city is down. Homicides are down 16% and overall crime is down 9% compared to the same time last year, but auto thefts are up due to the ongoing theft epidemic involving Hyundais and Kias.
“Everybody wants to see the city do better, and there's a lot of people rooting for us, we're going to get there,” Tracy said.
Tracy also talked about his other accomplishments, which included:
- Attending more than 75 community meetings as well as meeting with faith-based leaders.
- Adding another officer to the Body Worn Camera unit to help get video to prosecutors as soon as possible.
- Negotiating a union contract for officers that included raises. The St. Louis Police Officers Association had operated without a contract for 3 ½ years. “Working without a contract, that weighs on you,” Tracy said. He added the raises help make St. Louis “competitive” when it comes to pay compared to surrounding departments.
- Reaching a memorandum of understanding with the Juvenile Division following an incident in which a juvenile accused of shooting at officers was released back to his parents instead of being detained. Juvenile authorities have told 5 On Your Side the document essentially reiterates existing practices that were not followed that night to ensure police and juvenile authorities have juveniles brought to the detention facility following arrests to make detention decisions.
Prosecutors say evidence was delayed
One week before trial for a man accused of killing 7-year-old Dmyah Fleming and her father, Darrion-Rankin Fleming, prosecutors dismissed and refiled the charges – pushing a trial date months away from now.
The murders happened in January 2021.
Gardner’s spokeswoman Allison Hawk issued a statement, which read in part that police did not hand over evidence to prosecutors “in a timely manner.”
This week, a judge acquitted a shooting suspect from the bench before a jury could begin deliberations following trial.
In that case, a man was accused of shooting someone who assaulted him as the attacker was walking away from him along Washington Avenue in 2020.
Prosecutors did not give the defense DNA evidence that linked the suspect to the crime scene, so the judge would not allow it to be entered into evidence, according to a source familiar with the proceedings.
Without it, Judge Clinton Wright did not believe there was sufficient evidence presented by prosecutors that could lead a reasonable jury to link the defendant to the crime.
In a statement, Hawk wrote: “Critical evidence from law enforcement also was key to this case and was not received until the morning of the trial."
St. Louis Police spokesman Sgt. Charles Wall fired back with a statement outlining the dates the police department worked with prosecutors on the DNA evidence and how prosecutors had that evidence five days before trial began.
"I am not aware of any other evidence in this case that the Circuit Attorney’s Office was provided on the 'morning of the trial,’” Wall wrote.
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