ST. LOUIS — Police said Friday they would not release body camera footage of a police SUV crashing into a ºüÀêÊÓƵ gay bar or the resulting confrontation with the bar’s owners until the city’s investigation is complete.
The statement came as outrage mounted on social media this week over the department’s handling of the Monday morning crash, which ended with one of the bar owners being charged with assault and resisting arrest.
The police department said in a statement Friday that a prohibited the release of body camera footage until the investigation is complete or until a court orders its release, though they noted that they showed the footage to multiple ºüÀêÊÓƵ aldermen and members of a city advisory board on LGBTQ on Thursday at the request of Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.
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“This step was taken in recognition of the unique circumstances of this incident and to provide transparency and clarity in the face of speculation,†the statement said. “This is similar to past instances of officer-involved shootings or deaths, in which the city has shown body camera footage to family members.â€
Around 12:20 a.m. Monday, a rookie police officer drove his department-issue SUV into Bar:PM on South Broadway in the Carondelet neighborhood. Initial reporting suggested the officer swerved to avoid a dog, but later, the department said he overcorrected after trying to avoid a parked car. The department then said he admitted to being distracted by the in-car radio.
Officers arrested Bar:PM co-owner Chad Morris for third-degree assault of an officer, a felony, and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. They said he came to the scene, shouted obscenities and then shoved an officer “hard in the chest with an open hand.â€
The assault charge was later downgraded to a misdemeanor and Morris was released from jail. Morris’ attorney, Javad Khazaeli, held a press conference and accused the officer of striking Morris — not the other way around.
Khazaeli showed portions of a 30-minute video captured by a bystander that showed no assault like the one described in the report. Khazaeli said Morris was trying to leave the scene when officers assaulted him, noting his client had bruises under his eyes.