YOUR LETTERS: Police respond to false allegations

The St. Louis Police Officers’ Association would like to address the unfounded claims made against our members in a recent news article concerning State v. Heflin.

Kim Gardner’s office has once again failed to accept responsibility for the mistakes made within her office and chose instead to blame the hard-working men and women of the St. Louis Police Department. These repeated problems are due to the incompetence of the Circuit Attorney’s office, not from the actions of police officers.

POLICE PROFESSIONALS
Homicide investigations are extremely complex and extensive in nature and our homicide detectives handle caseloads that far exceed the national average. Despite these challenges, our detectives are consummate professionals who take their responsibilities very seriously. In this case, all the evidence had been turned over to the Circuit Attorney’s office for nearly a year prior to trial. Police officers shouldn’t be made scapegoats for an overworked, backlogged, and mismanaged Circuit Attorney’s Office.

BASELESS ALLEGATIONS
Police officers dedicate their professional lives to pursuing justice for victims of crime. They don’t point fingers and hide behind excuses. The baseless allegation that these officers withheld evidence is preposterous.

The real losers are St. Louis crime victims and their families. Kim Gardner seems more concerned about defending her broken public image than pursuing justice. How much longer can the citizens of St. Louis be expected put up with these failures.

JOE STEIGER
Business Manager
St. Louis Police Officers Association