Kim Gardner and the Big Pretense

 by Sylvester Brown Jr.

 

Those who condone, tolerate or support Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s forcible removal from office have engaged in a heavy dose of pretension. 

Gardner has been on the hotseat since last month when a 21-year-old, Daniel Riley-who was on bond on a robbery case-caused an accident that left a young, out-of-town athlete, Janae Edmondson pinned between two cars. Her legs were later amputated. 

Immediately after the incident, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, ran an article that basically placed all the blame on Gardner’s office. The publication reasoned that since Riley had incurred more than 50 bond violations Gardner’s office should have had it revoked. That way, Riley would have been behind bars not driving recklessly on downtown St. Louis streets. 

The region’s daily newspaper pretended that Gardner’s office is responsible for eratic driving and issuing bonds. For suspect reasons, it skipped over the responsibility of the police who supposedly control reckless driving or Judge Bryan Hettenbach, who actually issued Riley’s recognizance bond and hadn’t changed or revoked it even after numerous violations and a request from Gardner that he be jailed. 

For suspect reasons, the Post skipped over the responsibility of the police to control reckless drivers or Judge Bryan Hettenbach, who actually issued Riley’s recognizance bond and hadn’t changed or revoked it...

Almost every local media story stubbornly focused on Gardner as the sole culprit. Several black local, state and “progressive” politicians immediately condemned Gardner. Mayor Tishaura Jones stated that Gardner had “lost the trust of the people.” State Rep. Rasheen Aldridge (D-St. Louis), Rep. Raychel Proudie, who represents parts of north St. Louis County, Board of Aldermen President Megan Green also condemned her. Like the media, they too dismissed Gardner’s claim that she is the target of a political and media hitjob. 

To dismiss Gardner’s claim that she’s a political target is to dismiss similar allegations from black “progressive” female prosecutors across the nation. Prosecutors such as Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, Aramis Ayala, the first black elected prosecutor in Florida’s history, Kim Foxx, Chicago’s first black woman state’s attorney or Rachael Rollins, a black female prosecutor in Boston are all under attacks similar to Gardner’s. 

To dismiss Gardner’s claim that she’s a political target is to dismiss similar allegations from black “progressive” female prosecutors across the nation. 

Jefferson City politicians are working feverishly to appoint special prosecutors to take over Gardner’s cases or remove her from office. It’s no coincidence that Georgia legislators are attempting the same maneuver against Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Atlanta. No doubt, the effort is in retaliation for Willis’ ongoing investigation of former President Donald J. Trump. 

It takes a great deal of pretension to ignore Gardner’s turbulent entree into the circuit attorney’s office. She was elected in 2016 on a promise to address the “long history of racial inequality and prejudice in the city’s criminal justice system generally, and within its police force particularly.” 

After she was elected, the police union quickly opposed her bid to create a new unit to investigate police-involved shootings. The relationship worsened in 2018 when Gardner drafted a list of 28 officers whom she did not trust to put on the stand. Racism is so deeply embedded in the city’s police department that even president of the Ethical Society of Police, Heather Taylor, questioned how anyone could ignore its “long history of racial discrimination.” 

It’s no coincidence that Georgia legislators are attempting the same maneuver against Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Atlanta. No doubt, the effort is in retaliation for Willis’ ongoing investigation of former President Donald J. Trump. 

Gardner’s critics have chosen to make-believe that “Red State” Missouri politicians are unlike Trump-loving extremists in Washington DC. Attacks increased exponentially in 2018 after Gardner made the audacious decision to prosecute then-Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. 

Then, in 2020, Gardner received vicious backlash, mostly from conservatives, when she filed criminal charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey, after they pulled guns on Black Lives Matter protesters outside their Central West End mansion. Claiming that Gardner violated the McCloskeys' 2nd Amendment rights, Missouri Republican politicians wrote to then Attorney General, William Barr, calling for an investigation. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) also wrote Barr and insisted the courts immediately "dismiss this case.” For his part, Republican Gov. Mike Parson vowed to pardon the McCloskey's even if they were convicted. 

Gardner’s critics have chosen to make-believe that “Red State” Missouri politicians are unlike Trump-loving extremists in Washington DC.

Gardner’s critics have purposely ignored the more than two-decade history of problems within the circuit attorney’s office, similar to those under Gardner’s reign. Gardner’s predecessor, Jennifer Joyce, who is white and was elected circuit attorney in 2000, never received the kind of personal scrutiny and political backlash that Gardner has. 

Police representatives have accused Gardner of being “soft on criminals.” Yet, in 2007, when Joyce’s office failed to bring charges against a man homicide detectives said they had DNA evidence that proved his guilt, there was no outcry for her dismissal. 

Unlike previous circuit attorneys, Gardner’s powerful political critics have blamed her for everything ranging from in-office resignations to criminal case backlogs. Like Gardner, there was turnover and resignations when Jennifer Joyce took office. But, in Joyce’s 16 years in office, she was never held personally responsible for those departures. 

Nor was Joyce blamed in 2008 when the St. Louis circuit courts was designated “the slowest in the state and carrying the largest backlog of cases.” At the time, the average age of city court cases waiting for deposition was 285 compared to 153 in St Louis County and 146 in Jackson County. 

Unlike previous circuit attorneys, Gardner’s powerful political critics have blamed her for everything ranging from in-office resignations to criminal case backlogs.

Two years before Gardner was elected, Joyce’s office was accused of “last minute dismissal of felony cases.” At the time, at least 51 felony charges in 2014 were dismissed by the attorney’s office within days of trial dates. Again, there were no police or high-profile political accusations of Joyce being inept or “soft” on crime nor were there calls for her resignation or removal. 

It takes a huge bucket of gumption to blame Gardner’s office for backlogs and delays in criminal cases during a once-in-a-century, global pandemic. Earlier this month, KSDK news reported that there were more than 4,500 criminal cases pending near the end of 2022. 

Of course, Gardner has made mistakes. What politician hasn’t? 

But even with backlogs and chaos in the courts due to the pandemic, her office boasts a 95% conviction rate including an 81% conviction rate on murder charges. 

History is history and facts are facts. So, let’s stop pretending that attacks against Gardner and the orchestrated attempt to remove her from office are not politically motivated.