St. Louis chief prosecutor Kim Gardner accused of dereliction of duty

Kim Gardner was supposed to be tough on crime.

Gardner, the first black woman to be elected St. Louis's Circuit Attorney, campaigned on progressive changes and vowed to go after criminals and hold them accountable. She did flashy interviews on 60 Minutes and Nightline and grabbed even more headlines when she sued the city, its police union, and five others in 2020 for what she called a racist effort to block her reform agenda.

Today, she stands accused by members of the public, her former employees, and a circuit court judge of a dereliction of duty. Her office...