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.
The attorney also mentioned how details in the police report didn't make sense.
Social media users expressed their frustration.
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."
