Comic Sands

Percolately

percolately George Takei

George Takei

georgetakei Second Nexus

Second Nexus

George's Picks

Most Read

Lawyer Speaks Out After Cops Rammed Through Gay Bar Window—And Arrested The Bar's Owner

After a police officer crashed into the gay bar Bar:PM in St. Louis, Chad Morris, a co-owner of the bar, was arrested for allegedly assaulting the officer.

Dec. 21, 2023

Screenshots of police vehicle after crashing into a LGBBTQ+ bar in St. Louis

Fox 2

A police patrol car ran a red light early Monday morning and crashed into Bar:PM, an LGBTQ+ bar located in south St. Louis, Missouri, and subsequently arrested one of the bar's co-owners.

James Pence and his husband, Chad Morris, are regarded as "pillars of the LGBTQIA community." They reside above the establishment, known for being an LGBTQ+ safe and inclusive space for locals.

They were asleep when they suddenly heard a loud boom below.

The pair went downstairs to investigate and were shocked to discover the police vehicle smashed into the front entrance of the bar.

According to a report from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department obtained by KSDK-TV, the cop car contained two St. Louis police probation officers, both of whom had been with the department for less than a year.

Conflicting testimony indicated the probation officer who was driving the 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe swerved to avoid hitting a dog while a previous report stated the officer tried to avoid a parked car.

Following the incident, Pence was handcuffed after refusing to hand over his ID to the officer, and Morris was charged for allegedly assaulting an officer and resisting arrest.

Morris’ attorney, Javad Khazaeli, argued that Morris's arrest was unwarranted since footage of the incident provided by witnesses didn't match police testimony about the cause of the crash and didn't show his client assaulting the officer.

Khazaeli shared a couple of clips showing different vantage points of the incident on X (formerly Twitter) followed by live updates.

Sooo. 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. Well here\xe2\x80\x99s the video. 1/
— (@)

This is at the intersection of Broadway and Nagle. Thats a 15 second walk from the bar. Here's a freeze frame of the SLMPD car in middle of intersection. 2/
— (@)

Oh boy. Today, police announced that they did not give a breathalyzer exam to the St. Louis police officer who crashed into my clients bar bc other officers determined he was not impaired. Well here video of him running a red light seconds before he crashed into Bar:PM 1
— (@)

The attorney also mentioned how details in the police report didn't make sense.

So here's a recap of police statement. Same officer who beat my client decide that driver had no impairment and didn't need breathalyzer. No dash cam on car. Won't release body cam. No investigation of crash. No crash scene photos. 3/
— (@)

If I crashed into a building, while speeding, after midnight, after running a stop light, there is no way that I could have a co-worker decide that I should not get a breathalyzer 4/
— (@)

If this was an hour earlier, bar patrons could have been killed. It is unacceptable to pretend like this was just a harmless accident 5/
— (@)

The police statement also now claims that the officer was changing his radio and that caused him to crash. this is now the third different explanation from swerving to miss a dog to not seeing the only parked car to now the radio. None explain running the red light 6/
— (@)

Social media users expressed their frustration.

@javadesq Straight up cover up, and it will\nnot end well for them. STL cops are\ncrooked.
— (@)

@javadesq He has master shield. Of course they protect their own
— (@)

@javadesq Based on the break lights flashing twice, it also looked like the driver tapped the breaks then let his foot back off it as he made the turn into the bar, as if it was on purpose.
— (@)

@javadesq He ran a red light to avoid hitting the dog he was trying to avoid hitting when your client\xe2\x80\x99s bar swerved in front of him.
— (@)

@javadesq There should be a law that ANY police officer involved with an auto accident be blood tested for substances or loose their job. Same goes for use of force issues.
— (@)

In another follow-up, Khazaeli said:

"This morning the prosecutors office agreed that Chad will be released on his own recognizance."

"We are awaiting him walking out of the jail right now."

Khazaeli said he was contacted by prosecutors, who said they would be "amending the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor."

He also added, "That won't be enough," since obtained footage showed that the police were the aggressors in the situation and Morris did "nothing wrong."

Pence told Fox 2:

"I wish they would tell me truly what happened."

"Accidents happen. Any one of us can get in an accident any day. I accept that."

He demanded that police need to “own it, tell me what happened, and fix the building."

You can watch the news report, here.

Conflicting stories after police SUV crashes into south St. Louis baryoutu.be

In an update posted on the bar's Facebook page, Pence wrote:

"Good afternoon everyone first of all Chad and I can’t say thank you enough for all the love and support."

"We were able to get Chad today. We will be open this evening thank you all for everything."

attorney crash st louis police gay bar arrested lgbtq