Mayor Tishaura Jones Criticizes Circuit Attorney's Office for Recent Crash

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said today that Kim Gardner, "really needs to do some soul searching of whether or not she wants to continue as circuit attorney."

Jones spoke briefly with the media at Bryan Hill Elementary School in the College Hill neighborhood ahead of a Black History Month event there. Her remarks come on the heels of a torrent of criticism directed at the Circuit Attorney’s Office after 21-year-old Daniel Riley struck a teenager visiting from out of town on Saturday. It was subsequently reported that Riley had violated his bond 51 times.

The victim, 16-year-old Janae Edmondson, will have to have both of her legs amputated as a result of the crash.

"She's lost the trust of the people," Jones said of Gardner.

President of the Board of Aldermen Megan Green also spoke at the event with Jones, saying, "My office also recognizes that in order to build a more just criminal-justice system, we have to have a circuit attorney office that is working effectively, at full capacity, with the trust of residents in our city.”

As criticism of Gardner grew, her office released a statement yesterday saying, in part, that it is "unfortunate that there are those who choose to twist the facts to take advantage of this situation for their own selfish motives."

The statement was widely criticized, with Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger saying it would have been better for the office to have remained silent.

Jones called the statement "very disturbing."

The mayor added that there needs to be accountability from the circuit attorney's office, beginning with Gardner taking accountability about where “things were dropped” by her office in the Riley case.

She added that Gardner’s office’s missteps had hurt the reputation of the city.

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