ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner shared the reasons why she won't accept cases from 29 officers on the exclusion list.
Gardner's exclusion list now has 29 officers on it. She said officers can make the list for four reasons.
She said the reasons include credibility issues, trying to use intimidation tactics to get charges filed, refusing to cooperate with ongoing investigations or they could be under investigation.
Gardner said she will not accept cases from these officers because it's hard to trust them when their credibility is on the line.
“As a prosecutor, you can’t waiver on integrity and justice, because like I said before someone's life and liberty is at stake,” she said.
However, some officers on the list have still tried to file charges with Gardner's office. St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden responded to this last Thursday.
“There are some people on the list, that I don't know why they're on that list. So, the fact that they're on the list, I'm not even aware of some integrity issue, of the officer, why wouldn't I send them over there,” he said.
The St. Louis Police Officer's Association got a temporary restraining order that prevents the names on the list from being released. Gardner said she wouldn't want to release the names anyway.