Police chief apologizes for officers’ crash into south St. Louis bar
ST. LOUIS — Police Chief Robert Tracy said Tuesday he was sorry that one of his officers crashed a department SUV into a south city bar last month, and that the rookie officer is, too. In his first public comments on the crash since it sparked a wave of criticism from officials and LGBTQ residents in late December[1], Tracy said that 15 minutes after the accident, the rookie officer admitted fault to his supervisor, saying, ‘I messed up, I looked down, and then when I looked up, I redirected my vehicle.'”
Early news accounts and initial statements from police and bar owners suggested the officer had been distracted by a dog in the road, a poorly parked car, and the SUV’s radio before crashing into Bar:PM on South Broadway in the city’s Carondelet neighborhood.
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Tracy said the officer’s conduct would be reviewed, and likely lead to some kind of discipline and retraining.
St. Louis police Chief Robert Tracy answers questions after his first year as head of the St. Louis police department during a press conference on Tuesday, Jan.
9, 2024, at City Hall in St. Louis.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
He also expressed regret for “high tensions” that followed when two other officers and Bar:PM’s owners arrived on the scene. Officers ended up arresting co-owner Chad Morris with felony assault of an officer, saying he came to the scene, shouted obscenities and then shoved an officer “hard in the chest with an open hand.”
Morris’ attorney, Javad Khazaeli, has consistently disputed that account, saying Morris was trying to leave the scene when officers assaulted him. On Tuesday he cast the chief’s sentiments as little comfort. “The best way to show that they’re sorry is to dismiss these bogus charges against our client when it’s clear that the officers were the aggressors,” Khazaeli said Tuesday.
Tracy also defended his department’s refusal to release body camera footage of the incident to clear things up[2], saying state open records law forbids it with charges against Morris still pending. He said he also had an internal investigation to consider after the bar owners’ attorney indicated they wanted to file a complaint about the officers’ conduct. Tracy added that he was relieved that both officers in the SUV were uninjured, and expressed concern about a growing issue with accidents.
Two other officers on an emergency run were injured in a crash Sunday[3]. Tracy said he has been reviewing training materials and asking other chiefs what they’re doing to reduce collisions. “More officers get hurt in car accidents — and so do other people — than probably any other thing,” Tracy said. “And I’ve got to keep my officers alive and keep people safe.”
Tracy made the comments at a press conference with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and other top officials celebrating his first anniversary with the department and encouraging crime statistics in recent years. St.
Louis police reported 158 killings in 2023, the the lowest total in 10 years[4], and overall shootings, felony thefts and auto thefts saw major drops, too. “We’re trending in the right direction,” Tracy said. Attorney Javad Khazaeli talks about a police SUV that crashed through the front of a gay bar in south St.
Louis early Monday, after which a co-owner of the bar was charged with assault after a brief scuffle with officers. Video by David Carson, Post-Dispatch
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References
- ^ since it sparked a wave of criticism from officials and LGBTQ residents in late December (www.stltoday.com)
- ^ refusal to release body camera footage of the incident to clear things up (www.stltoday.com)
- ^ were injured in a crash Sunday (www.stltoday.com)
- ^ the lowest total in 10 years (www.stltoday.com)
- ^ David Carson (www.stltoday.com)