Cops Crash Car Into Missouri Gay Bar, Arrest Owner

Police officers from St Louis, US, are facing allegations of misconduct after crashing into the front wall of a Missouri gay bar and subsequently arresting one of the upset owners. 

Chad Morris and James Pence, the co-owners, live above the bar. According to local radio station KTVI, Morris was closing up his establishment when a police SUV slammed into the building. 

Footage captured the moment when a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department cruiser crashed into Bar:PM in south St. Louis. The incident occurred shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Monday along the 7100 block of South Broadway in the Carondelet neighbourhood.

Morris, was apprehended on charges of felony assault on an officer and a misdemeanour for purportedly resisting arrest. According to police documents, he began to “scream obscenities” at the police after the crash and subsequently physically struck one of the officers.

Bar Owner Released With A Black Eye

Morris initially faced a felony charge of third-degree assault on an officer, which was later reduced to fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanour, by prosecutors. He was also charged with a misdemeanour count of resisting arrest. 

The bar owner was released from jail on Tuesday morning with a black eye, KTVI said.

According to a crime summary report, the two probation officers in the patrol car, each with less than a year of experience on the job, allegedly “overcorrected” while passing too close to a parked vehicle, swerving across several lanes of traffic before colliding with Bar:PM.

Police Version Disputed

Attorney Javad Khazaeli, lawyer for the bar owners, shared surveillance footage of the crash from a distance on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday morning, where the video reveals the police car veering to the left just moments after passing a parked car and subsequently crashing into the bar approximately two seconds later.

Witnesses including James Pence, Morris’ husband, contend that the police’s account of the events differs significantly from the actual sequence of occurrences.

Pence, who resides above Bar:PM with Morris, recounted being asleep in bed when the crash occurred.

“I heard a loud bang. I felt the building shake. I ran down from upstairs,” he told KTVI. Pence claimed that he was handcuffed when he refused to show his identification to an officer. “I was told I had to ID or shut up,” he told KSDK. Pence was not arrested or charged. Morris questioned the police about Pence being handcuffed. 

According to Pence, the confrontation between Morris and the officers escalated into a physical altercation when the officers “went for him.” Pence told the Riverfront Times, “He raised his arm and they said he hit them.”

Bar Owner Released

A spokesperson from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement to The Advocate, ““Preliminary investigation revealed [the police car was] traveling northbound…when [the driving officer] believed he was traveling too close to a parked car and attempted to correct himself. This action caused [the officer] to lose control of his vehicle and crash into the… building”. 

Attorney Khazaeli questioned the changing version of events given by the police department. Initially the officers claimed they swerved to avoid a dog, but upon revision, have stated it was to avoid a parked car. 

Attorney Khazaeli also criticised the lack of transparency following the incident, noting the lack of statements made by the police department, where “they haven’t told us if the officers were drug tested or alcohol tested”. 

“It’s shocking because this should never happen to anybody. But it’s not surprising because this is one more act in a long string of malfeasance by the police department,” he told The Advocate. 

Morris spoke at a press conference, expressing his gratitude for his release from St Louis Jail on Tuesday after undergoing such an “emotional time”. 

“I’m happy for the support and to be out… on my husband’s birthday. I want to go home”, Morris said.