Police Didn’t Breathalyze or Drug Test Cop Who Drove Into Gay Bar
St. Louis police didn’t feel there was “reasonable suspicion” that their officer was intoxicated when he rammed his car into a gay bar.
St. Louis, Missouri police did not drug test or breathalyze the officer who crashed his car into a gay bar, eventually leading to the bar’s owner being arrested, the department told reporters.
A police SUV drove into Bar:PM shortly after midnight on Monday morning; afterwards, police handcuffed one of the owners and arrested a second one, charging him with felony assault.
The co-owner who was arrested, Chad Morris, said police beat him, and had a black eye and scratches on his face when he was released from the St. Louis City Justice Center Tuesday. Prosecutors have downgraded his assault charge to a misdemeanor, but his lawyer said they must drop charges altogether.
Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.
According to the Riverfront Times, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Lieutenant Colonel Renee Kriesmann told reporters Wednesday police did not take a toxicology test or breathalyze the driver of the police SUV because there was no “reasonable suspicion” that they had been using drugs or alcohol.
But the police department’s story as to why the officer drove into the bar has changed multiple times. Initially, Bar:PM co-owner James Pence said the driver told him he had swerved to avoid a dog. Then, in a police incident report cited by a local Fox News affiliate, cops said the officer swerved to avoid a parked car. Kriesmann told media outlets that the driver was “distracted while attempting to change his in-car radio."
Video footage of the crash shows the car swerving after passing a parked car that was not in its path.
Morris’ lawyer, Javad Khazaeli, has also released a second video that appears to show the same police SUV running a red light just before the crash took place.
St. Louis police have not responded to VICE News’ request for comment.
After the crash, an officer investigating the scene, John Pierce, said in a probable cause statement that Morris refused to comply with his requests to back up, screamed obscenities, and hit him. Kriesmann told reporters police will not be releasing body camera footage because it’s now part of the criminal investigation into whether Morris shoved an officer. Khazaeli said the accusation that Morris shoved an office is false.
“The defendant struck me hard in the chest with an open hand, causing me to temporarily lose my balance,” Pierce alleged. Pierce alleged that, when he told Morris he was under arrest, Morris tried to flee into a walkway between buildings and “attempted to strike me with the gate.”
Khazaeli showed VICE News a bystander video of Morris going into the walkway, but the footage does not show Morris assaulting Pierce. As Morris is being arrested, the video shows him screaming, “This motherfucker in the black beanie punched me in the fucking face,” in reference to another officer on scene.
The officer in the black beanie is also seen in the bystander video telling co-owner Pence to “stop yelling” after the crash, and saying that he’s “causing a disturbance.” The same officer warns the bystander who’s filming, “keep interfering, you’ll be in handcuffs too, clown.”
According to the Riverfront Times, Governor Mike Parson has also called for police to release body camera footage.
