ST. LOUIS – Newly-released video shows the moment a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department cruiser crashed into Bar:PM in south St. Louis.
The crash happened just before 12:30 a.m. Monday at Bar: PM along the 7100 block of South Broadway, in the Carondelet neighborhood.
Attorney Javad Khazaeli shared surveillance video of the crash from a distance with FOX 2. The video shows the police car swerve left moments after passing a parked car and crash into the bar about two seconds later.
FOX 2 has learned of conflicting accounts as to what happened around the crash.
A SLMPD crime summary report claims that two St. Louis police probation officers, each with less than one year of experience, were heading northbound on Broadway in a 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe. The driver lost control of the police vehicle, overcorrected, and crashed into the front facade of the bar.
The report claims that the driver of the Tahoe “believed he was traveling too close to a parked car” and overcorrected, which led to the crash.
However, one nearby resident tells FOX 2 that an officer behind the wheel told him that he tried to avoid a dog in the roadway, which caused him to lose control and hit the bar.
Two bar workers, including Chad Morris, who co-owns the bar, were closing up for the evening and inside the bar at the time of the crash. Morris then confronted the officers about what happened and began shouting profanity.
A SLMPD crime report alleges that one of the officers in the cruiser attempted to calm the situation, but Morris shoved that officer in the chest. The other officer attempted to restrain Morris, but he refused commands. Morris was taken to the ground before being placed in handcuffs and arrested.
Morris was taken to a hospital after complaining of a pre-existing medical condition. Later that day, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Morris with third-degree assault – special victim and resisting arrest.
The investigation regarding the crash is still ongoing. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.