St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Archives

New Missouri bill would allow St. Louis Police to turn over cases to Schmitt’s office; Roorda blasts Gardner

January 31, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

(This story is written by Missourinet St. Louis contributor Jill Enders)

ST. LOUIS- A state lawmaker from eastern Missouri’s St. Charles County is calling for tougher penalties for violent crime and is also calling out the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office.

State Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, speaks to reporters on January 31, 2020 at the St. Louis Police Union Hall (photo from Missourinet contributor Jill Enders)

State Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, held a Friday press conference at the St. Louis Police Union Hall, outlining three bills aimed at combating crime.

Schroer, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, was joined by law enforcement officers. He was also joined by State Reps. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, and Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis County.

“These three bills are geared at combating violent crime in our state, protecting the men and women who put their lives on the line for the betterment of our citizenry, and ultimately, to make this state safer,” Schroer says.

One of the bills toughens penalties for armed criminal action.

“Felons in possession of firearms using those weapons to further commit more crimes will have to serve mandatory (prison) time under this bill. Moreover, armed criminal action under this legislation will become a dangerous felony, meaning they will have to serve 85 percent of their sentence. These dangerous felons have proven they have no regard for our laws and our Missourians,” Schroer says.

Schroer has also filed a new bill, House Bill 1900. It calls for Missouri’s Attorney General to assert jurisdiction to prosecute criminal cases.

“This would allow law enforcement officers to turn over cases to the (Missouri) Attorney General’s office that the Circuit Attorney’s Office refuses to prosecute,” Schroer tells reporters.

“Last year of the 7,045 charges requested by police, the Circuit Attorney’s Office only took action on 1,641 of those. Those which the Circuit Attorney has refused to take action on are back on our streets committing further crimes,” Schroer tells reporters.

Former State Rep. Jeff Roorda (D), who’s the business manager for the St. Louis Police Officer’s Association, joined Schroer at the press conference. He blasted Circuit Attorney Gardner, during an interview with Missourinet.

“She’s not doing her job. She’s not the Circuit Attorney. She’s the circus attorney and she’s made a mockery of herself. She is a clown and people know it, and nobody cares what she thinks,” Roorda says.

Missourinet reached out to Circuit Attorney Gardner’s office, for reaction to the legislation and press conference comments.

“Public safety in our community, and communities around the state, is a key priority. Poverty and hopelessness fuel crime in our communities and we must address the root causes. In order to improve as a community, we must all work together. However, these issues must be addressed at a local level. The CAO (Circuit Attorney’s Office) continues to be committed to providing justice for all,” the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s office statement reads.

Schroer’s third bill is House Bill 1889, which would create the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights. It would require that any law enforcement officer who is suspended without pay, demoted, terminated, transferred or placed on a status resulting in economic loss is entitled to a full due process hearing.

Missouri governor: meeting with Krewson and Page “was about boots on the ground”

September 15, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor is expected to announce details of his plan to battle violent crime within the next week or so. The plan will involve state, federal and local coordination.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters on September 13, 2019. He was joined by State Rep. Becky Ruth (left) and State Sen. Wayne Wallingford (Brian Hauswirth photo)

Governor Mike Parson (R) briefed Capitol reporters Friday afternoon in Jefferson City, saying his recent meeting with St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and the city and county police chiefs was not a summit.

“That meeting the other day (last week at City Hall) that we had in St. Louis was about boots on the ground, it was about people on the enforcement side of it,” Parson says. “That’s all it was about. We didn’t discuss prosecution, we didn’t discuss anything. We were trying to figure out how can we get more people on the ground.”

Parson plans to send state troopers to St. Louis within the next month.

The governor says he’ll be meeting soon with both St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, who are both Democrats.

13 children have been killed in shootings in St. Louis City in 2019, and the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reports six children in St. Louis County have died from gunshot wounds since January.

Governor Parson is expressing his condolences to the families of the children who’ve been killed by gun violence in the St. Louis region and across the state. Parson became emotional when speaking to Capitol reporters on Friday.

“My heart goes out to them (families). You know, I’ve lost an officer in the line of duty, I’ve lost a brother-in-law in the line of duty. I know what it’s like to lose somebody,” says Parson.

The governor says the issue won’t be fixed by one agency, adding that it will take a coordinated effort among federal, state and community officials.

Meantime, Governor Parson is criticizing comments made last week by House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, about the special session.

Quade told Capitol reporters on Wednesday that “it makes no sense to prioritize tax breaks for a few over the lives of Missourians who die nearly everyday due to gun violence.”

Parson tells Missourinet that Leader Quade’s comments are “political hype.”

“And I’ll be frank with the Minority Leader that made that statement,” Parson says. “I didn’t know she … what she should have done was have a press conference a month ago when children were dying in the street, but unfortunately she came here to Jefferson City when it was convenient for her to start talking about this issue.”

Quade and House Democrats asked the governor to add the gun violence issue to the special session. State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, notes Kansas City and St. Louis have ranked in the top ten deadliest cities for at least a decade.

As for Governor Parson, he emphasizes that he’s not comparing the car sales tax issue with gun violence.