A south St. Louis bar owner has been released from the St. Louis City Justice Center after a Monday morning incident in which a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer crashed a car into the bar.
Bar:PM co-owner Chad Morris was initially charged with third-degree felony assault and resisting arrest, claiming Morris struck an officer after the crash. The charges were later reduced to a misdemeanor.
A police report following the incident said the officer driving the car realized he was driving too close to a parked car when he lost control of the vehicle and then crashed into the popular Carondelet gay bar. Additional officers arrived at the scene and claimed Morris pushed an officer before being arrested.
But video footage from a bystander contradicts the initial charges, Morris鈥� lawyer Javad Khazaeli said.
Khazaeli shared portions of the video, which shows officers asking Morris鈥檚 husband, James Pence, for identification. When Pence questioned why, officers handcuffed him. The video also showed an officer confronting the bystander who questioned why arrests were being made. The officer said, 鈥渉e鈥檚 not going to yell at me鈥� and 鈥渉e鈥檚 causing a disturbance.鈥�
Morris yelled at several officers, and the video shows police following Morris down an alley. When they leave the alley, Morris is dragged out in handcuffs and thrown into the back of a police van, but the shared footage didn鈥檛 show Morris striking an officer.
鈥淚t became obvious in the videos that instead of being apologetic about what happened, the police were aggressors and I think trying to cover up what happened that day,鈥� Khazaeli said.
After Morris was released by a judge on Tuesday, he spoke to reporters with bruises on his face.
鈥淚t's been an emotional time, but I'm happy for the support,鈥� Morris said. 鈥淚 want to just go home.鈥�
Khazaeli said that a felony charge could cost Morris and Pence their liquor license and that the circuit attorney鈥檚 office should drop all the charges when they present the evidence. Khazaeli is also calling for an outside agency to investigate the police conduct.
Another video shared by Khazaeli and taken by a security camera shows the police car speeding down South Broadway and crashing into the bar. A car is parked on the side of the road but doesn鈥檛 appear to be obstructing the street.
鈥淲hy an officer would be driving that fast at that time, you could kill somebody,鈥� Khazaeli said. 鈥淚f I were driving that fast and lost control of my car and smashed into a business, I would be charged, I would be arrested, I would be drug tested. I would be given an alcohol test.鈥�
Sooo. You all heard about the cop car that slammed into Bar PM Sunday night. And they arrested the owner for having the audacity to question him. Well here鈥檚 the video. 1/
— Javad Khazaeli (@javadesq)
A spokesperson for police said that they have no details on any drug or alcohol testing for officers but that a test could be imposed if there鈥檚 reasonable suspicion or following a critical incident. The incident is being investigated by the department鈥檚 Accident Review Board, and if an officer鈥檚 motor vehicle conduct isn鈥檛 consistent with the department's rules, the officer would be required to attend a driver's education class, the spokesperson said.
Pence said that he and Morris have received a lot of community support over the past few days and that friends and volunteers gathered to clean up the bar after the accident. Bar:PM reopened Tuesday evening, and Pence said while the support has been incredible, the situation has been a nightmare.
鈥淣obody should have to go through this, from going from being a victim, to going to having to defend yourself, defend your family and defend your business,鈥� Pence said. 鈥淭hat is not what the police are here to do.鈥�
