Judge issues timeline for Gardner to respond to Attorney General, Gardner responds in YouTube interview

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - A judge has issued a timeline for Kim Gardner to respond to the Attorney General’s motion to remove her from office.

In Jefferson City, there’s movement on a bill to appoint a special prosecutor, and on Monday, we heard from Gardner as she continues to call these moves a politically motivated attack.

News 4 has requested an interview with Gardner every day for the last week. She answered just a few questions at a news conference but has not given us a chance to sit down and ask her questions like she did just yesterday with a YouTube host.

“Last time I checked, we have a process called elections, and why is Missouri so afraid for the people of St. Louis to elect their prosecutor,” Gardner said in an interview on Roland Martin’s YouTube channel.

In the 13-minute interview, she defends her office’s handling of the Daniel Riley case, the man accused of hitting 17-year-old Janae Edmondson, which has led to the recent criticism and outrage.

At the end of the interview, she makes allegations against the St. Louis Police Union.

“Can I say one thing?” she said. “I just want to also say it’s interesting that the biggest critic has been the police union, and this is also started by the police union, who from day one stated I should be removed from office by force or someone taking me out in a violent way.”

News 4 is working to clarify what she meant by that. She has previously stated in other national interviews that she received threatening emails. It has been 2021 since she gave KMOV an interview.

Gardner adds this about the state’s efforts to appoint a special prosecutor or her replacement if she is removed:

“When you think about the cases they’re trying to take, we’re like number one in officer-involved shootings. Those cases are also murders, so that’s what this is really about, this is about an individual getting into this office who is controlled by the governor who will rubber stamp these investigations and justify most of officer-involved shootings case.”

The Circuit Attorney’s Office reviews all officer-involved shootings in the City of St. Louis and determines if charges should be filed.

News 4 has reached out to the police union for comment about these allegations and has also reached out to Gardner’s office, asking for clarification or proof of the comments she made in this YouTube interview.

News 4 is waiting to hear back from Gardner’s office.

Copyright 2023 KMOV. All rights reserved.