Edwards said that number is “misleading.” He estimates that as many as 40 percent of the officers on the list no longer work for the police department. Some, he said, haven’t worked there since 2007.

“That is a flaw in our agreement, and I’ll have to fix it,” Edwards said. “Once they are no longer police officers, they should come off the list.”

Edwards, a former judge, said he believes judges should make determinations about a police officer’s credibility, but prosecutors have absolute discretion.

“I don’t have the ability to draft a process and impose it on circuit attorney.”

Edwards said he also does not agree with some of the names on Gardner’s list, including a female officer who was banned after screaming, “Oh, my God, I can’t believe you aren’t going to issue that case,” to Gardner’s staff.

“I don’t necessarily agree that officers should not be able to do their job because they’ve raised their voice,” he said. “People raised their voice in my courtroom for years and we always let them come back in and do their jobs,” he said. “But in their minds, she was disrespectful. She’s still allowed to be a police officer, but now her partner has to apply on her cases with the Circuit Attorney’s Office.”