ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Officer, who was at the center of the arrest of the owner of Bar P:M after a police cruiser struck the bar last winter, is no longer a member of the department.
According to St. Louis Metropolitan Department spokesperson Evita Caldwell, the officer left the department after serving 16 years on the force. Caldwell did not disclose if the officer was fired or if he left on his own.
The officer first got the attention of the public after an encounter he had with one of the owners of Bar P:M, Chad Morris, and arrested him after the cruiser crashed into the bar, leaving significant damage.
The crash brought many questions to the community due to conflicting stories of the bar owners and STLMPD of what happened before and after the crash. Police claimed that the driver of the cruiser was distracted by a car radio, which led to the crash.
However, Morris’s husband and Bar P:M owner James Pence said the officer behind the wheel told him that he tried to avoid a dog in the roadway, and that’s what caused him to lose control and hit the bar. Police did not do a toxicity report on the officer who crashed into the bar.
The former SLMPD officer was allegedly not involved in the crash but arrived at the scene and escalated the situation. Morris was initially charged with a felony, accused of assault and resisting arrest, but the charges were later amended to two misdemeanors.
The officer was faced with several lawsuits after the crash and accused of having a long history of abusing citizens. One case involved a man accusing the officer of handcuffing him and slamming him to the ground. Another complaint came from a neighbor of the officer, according to Morris’ attorney, Javad Khazaeli.
