St Louis cops ‘skipped red light’ before plowing into bar and then arresting the owner because ‘he yelled at them’

• Chad Morris, 37, was standing inside Bar: PM when a police car skipped a red light and smashed into the front of his bar at 12.30am on Monday
• He noticed it belonged to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and went outside to speak to the police officers but he was arrested within half an hour
• Morris was accused of shoving a cop and charged with felony assault but prosecutors reduced the charge to misdemeanor assault and resisting arrest

By Kamal Sultan For Dailymail.Com[1]

Published: 22:23, 21 December 2023 | Updated: 22:53, 21 December 2023

The police officers in St Louis who ploughed into the front of a bar with their SUV appeared to skip a red light before the crash.

Chad Morris, 37, was standing inside Bar: PM when a cop car smashed into the front of the property at 12:30 am on Monday and broke the front door and window.

He noticed it belonged to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police[2] Department and went outside to speak to the police officers, but he was arrested within half an hour of the accident.

Morris was accused of shoving a cop and charged with felony assault, but prosecutors reduced the charge to misdemeanor assault and resisting arrest.

He was in jail for 30 hours before he was released on Tuesday on his own recognizance, and his defense attorney, Javad Khazaeli, disputes the allegations.

The police officers in St Louis who ploughed into the front of a bar with their SUV appeared to skip a red light before the crash

Chad Morris, 37, was standing inside Bar: PM when a cop car smashed into the front of the property at 12.30am on Monday and broke the front door and window

Morris was accused of shoving a cop and charged with felony assault but prosecutors reduced the charge to misdemeanor assault and resisting arrest

A 15-second clip of the crash was shared on social media platform X by Khazaeli on Tuesday morning.

It shows the police car speeding down a dark road and appearing to skip a red light before it swerves to the left past a parked car.

The vehicle then smashes into the front of the popular gay bar.

'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,' Khazaeli wrote.

A second video, recorded by a witness and seen by The Washington Post,[3] shows Morris's husband James Pence coming outside after the crash.

One of the responding police officers asks him if he is the owner of the bar and for proof of identification.

A 15-second clip of the crash was shared on social media platform X by defense attorney Javad Khazaeli on Tuesday morning

It shows the police car speeding down a dark road and appearing to skip a red light before it swerves to the left past a parked car

The vehicle then smashes into the front of the popular gay bar

'You're not IDing me,' Pence said. 'I've done nothing wrong.' He then shouts at the police officer who asks him not to yell.

'You're not going to cause a disturbance,' the cop said. Pence replied: 'I'm not causing a disturbance' and he was then handcuffed.

Morris then came outside to see why his husband was in handcuffs.

Another officer at the scene wrote in a probable cause statement that Morris did not listen to their requests to 'back-up so I could secure the scene'.

The officer alleged that Morris struck him 'hard in the chest with an open hand', causing him to lose his balance, according to the document.

He said Morris attempted to flee and pushed a trash can towards him when he was told he was under arrest.

The owner of the bar was then arrested and the video shows Morris with an eye injury and ripped clothing.

A second video, recorded by a witness, shows Morris's husband James Pence (pictured) coming outside after the crash

The officer alleged that Morris (left) struck him 'hard in the chest with an open hand', causing him to lose his balance. Pictured Morris and Pence walking out of St Louis City Jail on Tuesday

Attorney Khazaeli disputes the allegations and said: 'The police were clearly the aggressors here'

Police said an 'offender' came outside and 'began shouting obscenities' and when other officers arrived to 'calm the situation' the 'offender' shoved one of the cops.

Morris said he spent hours in custody worrying about whether Pence was arrested and about the bar they've owned for nearly 10 years.

'I was terrified that I was going to lose something that I put my heart and soul into for the last nine years,' he said.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said incidents like this 'can break an already fragile trust with law enforcement'.

'Everybody deserves to feel safe in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities,' she said in a statement.

Jones added that the officers involved 'will be held accountable for any and all misconduct.'

St Louis Police is yet to publicly identify the officers involved in the incident.

A spokesman for the police department confirmed the officer driving the car was distracted by his radio and lost control of the SUV.

It was traveling at less than 40 miles per hour before the crash and those in the car were not given toxicology tests.

Hours after the crash, members of the community turned up to the bar to help clean and board it up

Morris said the bar was packed with customers, including newcomers, who wanted to support the venue after the crash on Tuesday night

'The police were clearly the aggressors here,' Khazaeli claimed on Tuesday.

'They lost control of the vehicle.

And immediately, the video shows the police officers being aggressive with everybody in the area to cover up what they did.'

He added that Pence was put in handcuffs for 'having the audacity to ask why they crashed into his building.'

'They unlawfully handcuffed Mr. Pence,' he said. 'They falsely claim that speaking loudly is against the law. And they use that as a predicate to arrest Mr.

Morris.'

Hours after the crash, members of the community turned up to the bar to help clean and board it up.

Morris said the bar was packed with customers, including newcomers, who wanted to support the venue after the crash on Tuesday night.

'They've never been here, but they've seen the story and they just wanted to come,' he said.

DailyMail.com has contacted the St Louis Police Department for comment.

Met Police[4]

References

1. ^ Kamal Sultan For Dailymail.Com (www.dailymail.co.uk)
2. ^ Metropolitan Police (www.dailymail.co.uk)
3. ^ The Washington Post, (www.washingtonpost.com)
4. ^ Met Police (www.dailymail.co.uk)