The case drew scrutiny that led to the conviction of Gardner’s investigator and discipline for her. Gardner attracted the ire of St. Louis police in 2019 when she placed dozens of officers on an “exclusion list,” prohibiting them from bringing cases.
In 2020, Gardner filed a lawsuit accusing the city, a police union, and others of a coordinated and racist conspiracy to force her out of office. The lawsuit alleged violations of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which was adopted to thwart efforts to deny the civil rights of racial minorities.
