Last week, a cop in St. Louis, Missouri, crashed into an LGBTQ+ bar after, allegedly, he tried to swerve to avoid something and ended up in someone’s business. While the bar’s owner was arrested for the unforgivable crime of being angry that someone drove directly into his bar, St. Louis cops didn’t even bother to run any tests to see if their fellow boy in blue was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Vice reports. Apparently, crashing into a building doesn’t provide “reasonable suspicion” of intoxication.
As per the Riverfront Times, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Lieutenant Colonel Renee Kriesmann admitted to reporters that the unnamed officer was not subjected to any tests; Kriesmann clarified that those tests are only conducted when there is a “reasonable suspicion” of drug or alcohol use. Or, maybe, you can get out of those protocol if you’re a cop.
Local officials have since taken to social media to condemn police conduct and call for greater oversight of police officers. In this case, that would likely mean releasing the body camera footage of all officers involved in the incident.
Governor Mike Parsons is actively calling for the footage’s release, saying, “If you’ve got body cam footage, I don’t know why you wouldn’t release it.”
The body cam footage would also likely shed some light on what actually happened that night, as the official story from the cop has changed multiple times.
One of the co-owners of the bar, James Pence of Bar:PM, told multiple media outlets that cops on the scene claimed the cop had crashed while avoiding a dog on the road. In the official police report, fellow officers claimed that the cop behind the wheel tried to swerve to avoid a parked car and just got a little too crazy. Then, while speaking to media, Kriesmann said that the cop in question got distracted trying to change the radio — and then swerved to avoid a car he thought he got too close to.
You can check out some video footage come to your own conclusions:
You can also check out some local news footage to get some more context:
Body cam footage might also offer a little insight as to what happened inside the bar in the wake of the crash.
Chad Morris, co-owner of Bar:PM with Pence, was arrested for yelling at and shoving a cop. Krisemann told reporters that the St. Louis force won’t be releasing body cam footage of the incident since it’s not involved in a criminal investigation as to whether or not Morris actually shoved the cop — which seems like a pretty strange coincidence, considering Morris denies that happening and also alleges that he was beaten by the police that arrested him.
Here’s some more from Vice:
“The defendant struck me hard in the chest with an open hand, causing me to temporarily lose my balance,” Pierce alleged. Pierce alleged that, when he told Morris he was under arrest, Morris tried to flee into a walkway between buildings and “attempted to strike me with the gate.”
[Morris’ lawyer Javad] Khazaeli showed VICE News a bystander video of Morris going into the walkway, but the footage does not show Morris assaulting Pierce. As Morris is being arrested, the video shows him screaming, “This motherfucker in the black beanie punched me in the fucking face,” in reference to another officer on scene.