New U.S. attorney vows increased focus on violent crime, opioids

ST. LOUIS • The new U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, Jeff Jensen, said Wednesday that he planned to “greatly increase” the office’s focus on violent crime and the opioid problem with changes both inside and outside the confines of his offices.

Jensen, a former federal prosecutor and FBI agent, said that he had spent the last two days reaching out to prosecutors, judges, probation officials, treatment providers, community members and federal agencies.

He is planning to shift resources in his office and has asked for some of the 40 federal prosecutors that Attorney General Jeff Sessions said would be added to 20 U.S. attorney’s offices around the country to focus on violent crime.

Jensen said there are many efforts to tackle violent crime, including law enforcement initiatives and task forces, but their coordination has not always been smooth. Law enforcement efforts, he said, need to be closely coordinated with the community and those who try to ensure that former defendants don’t commit new crimes.

He does not expect many changes in the upper levels of the office, praising it as “impressive” and “very well-respected,” saying he got that perspective as a person who has spent eight years defending government regulatory and criminal matters across the country.

Jensen reiterated what was contained in a letter sent last week responding to a request by the St. Louis mayor and police chief for an investigation of the police response to protests over the acquittal last month of former St. Louis police Officer Jason Stockley on a murder charge. He said that the Justice Department in Washington investigates questions about patterns of behavior by police. The FBI, and then his office, would investigate specific allegations involving alleged civil rights violations, he said.

Asked about the investigation of police shootings, which have been a partial focus of protester concerns, Jensen said they would first be investigated at a local level, as is the current practice.

But he said that if local investigators referred a case, they would be looked at by “a very good prosecutor,” Jennifer Winfield. And he said he would personally review each case.

“I promise to view those objectively, and I think I’ve seen it from many different vantage points,” he said, emphasizing that he’s both worked with, prosecuted or sued and defended law enforcement officials in civil and criminal matters in his various jobs.

Jensen received his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University School of Business in 1988. He is a former certified public accountant who joined the FBI in 1989 and spent 10 years as an agent, part of that time on the SWAT team.

He attended St. Louis University’s law school at night, graduating in 1998.

Jensen worked in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1999 to 2009, rising to executive U.S. attorney.

He left to form his own firm with another prosecutor and a Clayton lawyer.

Most recently, he worked for the Husch Blackwell law firm.

Jensen’s name was among three submitted to the White House by U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

In an email, a Blunt spokeswoman wrote, “Jeff Jensen came highly recommended to the senator for this position. The senator received numerous letters from law enforcement officials, former colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and (FBI), and public officials, all of which speak to his exceptional level of dedication, integrity, and leadership ability.”

A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said in an email that McCaskill was consulted during the selection process and supported Jensen.

Jensen’s name was announced in July. He was confirmed by the Senate last week and sworn in Friday.

Lawyer Neil Bruntrager said Jensen “is well-regarded by the people he worked with.”

Bruntrager, who often represents police in criminal and civil matters, also said he would have “no qualms” about Jensen investigating police shootings.

Kevin Curran, a federal public defender, said he’s known Jensen since he was with the FBI, working on cases they had in common.

Curran called Jensen a “straight shooter,” adding, “I don’t think I’ve heard a bad word said about him from the defense bar.”