ST. LOUIS _ The St. Louis police union filed a request for a temporary restraining order Tuesday against the Circuit Attorney's Office and a commander of the Police Department to block them from releasing the names of officers whose cases prosecutors will no longer pursue.
The filing came as Police Chief John Hayden met with Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to discuss her concerns and the two "agreed that issues concerning a St. Louis City police's officer's credibility shall continue to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis," a statement issued late Tuesday afternoon by Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards said.
"The conversation was candid and respectful, and they are committed to working together to conduct fair investigations and to do justice in the prosecution of anyone accused of a crime," Edwards said. "Chief Hayden and Circuit Attorney Gardner also agreed to meet regularly to ensure open communication between their offices."
The moves are the latest chapters in a controversy that began Thursday after the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Gardner would quit accepting cases from or allow 28 officers to serve as witnesses due to "credibility" issues.
Since then, Gardner and Hayden have issued statements that appear to contradict each other. Gardner insists Maj. Michael Sack asked her for the list of officers and thanked her for helping him hold his "guys accountable" in an email.
A request made under the Sunshine Law for that correspondence or the names of the officers on the so-called list was rejected Tuesday by Gardner's office. "Any such record, and records relating to any such list, are closed records," Assistant Circuit Attorney James A. Michaels said by email.
He cited sections of the law that exclude communications because of attorney-client privilege and if they are "legal work product."
Sack and Gardner's Chief Warrant Officer Chris Hinckley were served with notice Tuesday that the temporary restraining order was requested. The order states that Hinckley and the Police Department have "declined to explain the reasons for placement upon this list, the criteria considered in determining whether an individual would be placed on this list, and procedures by which an individual could challenge placement on this list."
"Placement on the list does potential harm and damage to the reputation of the petitioner, defamation of his or her character, impedes the ability to perform current employment duties, jeopardizes potential for advancement and promotion and violates the due process rights of the named petitioner. Furthermore, public disclosure of plaintiff's name puts his safety at risk in the performance of his duties," according to the document.
A judge has yet to rule on whether to grant the order, and a hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Hayden has insisted no one from his department would ask for such a list.
Hayden was questioned about the situation with Gardner's office at the annual St. Louis Police Foundation luncheon, where he was sitting with Mayor Lyda Krewson and former Chief Dan Isom.
"I am interested in moving on and I look forward to meeting with the Circuit Attorney's Office soon and improve the relationship between her office and my agency," Hayden said. "I believe there is room for us to grow and become more effective and get back to the business of protecting the citizens of St. Louis."
He refused to answer any other questions about the situation, specifically Gardner's latest assertion that Sack asked for the list.
"I've already made my statements regarding that," he said.
In a statement issued Saturday, Hayden denounced the list as "unnecessary overreach."
"No leaders from our Department asked the Circuit Attorney's Office to compile an Exclusion list, nor do we have any need for such a list," Hayden wrote. "I was quite surprised to have received it."
Edwards also refused to answer questions at the luncheon Tuesday, saying only that he hopes to "have a comment by the end of the week."
In addition to filing the temporary restraining order, the police union on Tuesday sent a letter to Hayden demanding that the union be invited to any meetings with Gardner as it is representing "all of the officers whose reputations have been sullied by inclusion on the list."
"I would humbly propose that without the input of the rank-and-file, there will be no moving on from this travesty. Not now. Not ever," Jeff Roorda, business manager for the St. Louis Police Officers' Association, wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Post-Dispatch.
Of Edwards' statement Tuesday afternoon, Roorda said it "doesn't change anything."
"We've still got 28 officers who've been notified that the circuit attorney won't take their cases and they haven't been notified that anything has changed," he said. "They're trying to get the genie back in the bottle."
Roorda added that officers on the list have already had their cases refused by Gardner's office.
"So while Chief Hayden and Kim Gardner were having high tea and crumpets, we still have 2.5 percent of the workforce that can't put bad guys behind bars," he said.
