The chief prosecutor in St. Louis, who made history as the first Black woman to hold the post but faced widespread criticism for her handling of violent crime, said on Thursday that she would resign on June 1.
The prosecutor, Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, a Democrat, was facing an effort by Missouri’s attorney general, a Republican, to remove her from office.
Her resignation means the governor, also a Republican, can appoint a replacement to serve as the lead prosecutor in an overwhelmingly Democratic city that has long struggled with high crime rates and disinvestment.
In recent months, Attorney General Andrew Bailey accused Ms. Gardner of overseeing an office that failed at its most basic tasks, with warrant applications that went unreviewed for months and overburdened assistant prosecutors who sometimes failed to show up for court.
Mr. Bailey said on Thursday that there was no reason for Ms. Gardner to stay until June, and that his office was “undeterred with our legal quest to forcibly remove her from office.”“Every day she remains puts the city of St. Louis in more danger,” said Mr. Bailey, who has asked a judge to remove her.