Police car smashes into LGBT bar before officers arrest owner in bizarre incident

The co-owner, who lives above Bar:PM in in St Louis, Missouri, was getting ready for bed when the whole building shook. When he came down he says he was slapped in cuffs and his co-owner arrested

The police vehicle crashed through the front of the bar (FOX2)

The owner of an LGBT bar[1] has been arrested and charged after a police SUV 'swerved to miss a dog' and smashed into the front of the bar. After the crash the alarmed co-owners, James Pence and Chad 'Wick' Morris, came down and the police ended up slapping them both in handcuffs.[2] The bizarre incident happened at around 12.30am Monday morning at Bar:PM in St Louis, Missouri[3], US.

Mr Pence told RFT[4] that the police officer who was driving told him he had swerved to miss a dog in the middle of South Broadway. He also said he has security camera footage of the crash but is not making it public at this time.

Co-owner James Pence was also slapped in cuffs(FOX2)

Mr Pence, who lives above the bar, was getting ready for bed when the crash happened and he felt the whole building shake. He came down to find the police vehicle crashed into the building and an officer demanded to see his ID.

He says he replied: "No you don't. That's a police cruiser in my building. You don't need to see my ID.

This is not how this works." He was then placed in handcuffs. The other co-owner, Mr Wick, was taking videos and photos of the police vehicle when, according to Mr Pence: "Three of them (officers) went for him.

He raised his arm and they said he hit them. There were several police officers that jumped him."

Mr Pence said police told him they had swerved to avoid a dog (FOX2)

Although Mr Pence was eventually taken out of the handcuffs, Mr Wick was taken away by police and later charged with felony assault on an officer and misdemeanour resisting arrest. The probable cause statement connected to the charges, alleges Mr Wick began to "scream obscenities" after the crash.

The officer wrote that Mr Wick "struck me hard in the chest with an open hand, causing me to temporarily lose my balance." The legal document then alleges that Mr Wick tried.

The damage to the front of the bar(FOX2)

As well as cleaning up the damage to the front of the bar, Mr Pence spent the morning desperately trying to locate Mr Wick.

He had been taken to the South Patrol police station, then SLU Hospital for medical attention.

By around 9 am he was at Central Booking where he was charged.

The car smashed into the bar(FOX2)

References

1. ^ an LGBT bar (www.mirror.co.uk)
2. ^ slapping them both in handcuffs. (www.mirror.co.uk)
3. ^ Missouri (www.themirror.com)
4. ^ told RFT (www.riverfronttimes.com)
5. ^ Man forced to cancel wedding after parents conned out of £1million in cryptocurrency scam (www.mirror.co.uk)