ST. LOUIS (AP) — Embattled St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who had announced she would resign effective June 1, said Tuesday she is leaving office immediately, ending a turbulent tenure marked by frequent criticism, especially from Missouri’s Republican leaders.
A statement from Gardner’s office said she has been working with St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell on the transition plan so that his office can take over city cases “to prioritize public safety.” It didn’t explain why the transition was happening sooner than expected.
Gardner had been facing an ouster effort by Missouri’s attorney general and was under scrutiny from Republican-led state lawmakers when she announced May 4 that she would resign, effective June 1. But on Tuesday, after Gardner and Bell met with a circuit judge in St. Louis to finalize a temporary transfer of power, Gardner said in a statement that she was stepping down immediately.
“Effective immediately, Kimberly M. Gardner will end her service as the City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney,” the statement read. “Ms. Gardner has been committed to serving the people of the City of St. Louis and has done all she can to ensure a smooth transition.”
Details about how Bell will oversee city cases were not immediately released.
Gardner’s departure ends a tumultuous six-and-a-half years in office as the city’s first Black top prosecutor. Gardner, a Democrat, was part of a movement of progressive prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health treatment or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, rather than incarceration, who sought to hold police more accountable, and who proactively sought to free inmates who were wrongfully convicted.
She butted heads with police and with Republican lawmakers almost from the beginning. A series of events this year culminated with her departure.
Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a lawsuit…
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