Statement Re: Janae Edmondson

Some days in law enforcement are harder than others. The tragic injury to Janae Edmondson and unspeakable trauma her family experienced can never be truly rectified. I am horrified by what this family has experienced. I left work yesterday sickened by the fact that the criminal justice system in St. Louis failed this girl. I felt I failed her. In a way, maybe we all failed this family.

While many are assigning blame, and there will be a reckoning, I hope this can be a turning point in the debate around public safety in our city.  The system is broken and we have to fix it.

We need elected leaders who understand these problems and how to solve them. I welcome working with anyone at City Hall no matter how differ to solve these problems. For the future of this city, for our children, we have to work together to solve this.