A bar owner was arrested by authorities in connection with an assault after officers crashed their cruiser into his Missouri bar.
However, a witness claims the owner was jumped by officers prior to the arrest.
Chad Morris, co-owner of Bar:PM in St. Louis, Missouri has been charged with assault and resisting arrest following the incident.
According to a police report, a police cruiser crashed into the bar on early Monday morning. Morris’ attorney Javad Khazaeli, shared a clip on X (formerly known as Twitter) showing the car smashing into the bar and claimed the police were the aggressors.
According to an officer, “We were responding to an officer-involved accident at the location. The responding officer was helping with the investigation when Morris began to yell and scream obscenities, causing a disturbance. Morris then hit me after I asked him to wait so that we could speak a bit later.”
“I told defendant he was under arrest at which time he attempted to flee from me, going through a gate and then attempting to strike me with the gate,” the officer said in the affidavit, adding that Morris then “pushed a trash can” at another officer as they chased after him.
However, James Pence, co-owner of the bar and Morris’ husband, gave a different account.
“There were several police officers that jumped him,” he said. “Three of the officers went for him. He raised his arm and they said he hit them. The officers placed him in handcuffs as well after they asked for his identification after the crash.”
“That’s a police cruiser in my building. You don’t need to see my ID. This is not how this works,” Morris answered when authorities asked for his identification.
Morris was closing up for the night with another employee when the crash took place. Pence was in their residence, which is located above the bar.
“I was in bed. I heard a loud bang. I felt the building shake,” Pence said. “I ran down from upstairs. I could hear the officer behind the wheel apologizing and saying that he swerved to miss a dog.”
Despite Pence’s very detailed version of what happened, cops claimed otherwise.
They claimed the officer driving believed he was traveling to close to a parked car and swerved to miss the vehicle, which caused him to crash into the bar.
The police department confirmed no one was injured in the accident and the investigation remains ongoing. They also added that the driver of the police cruiser was a 32-year old St. Louis City Probation Officer.
A judge determined on Monday that Morris will be held without bond and said he poses a threat to the community.
However, Khazaeli said on X that this morning, the prosecutors office decided to release Pence on his own recognizance.
Personally I think this bar owner got what he deserved and should remain in jail indefinitely. Same sex marriages are disgusting and should be illegal! Homosexuals are destroying this country, and so are women. I’m glad that the police finally decided to do something about it and crashed their car into this bar. Back the Blue, people!