An owner of a south St. Louis gay bar that was hit by a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department car two years ago has filed a lawsuit against the city and the officers involved.
Bar: PM co-owner Chad Morris said in court documents that St. Louis police caused bodily harm and emotional distress, falsely arrested him and seized him without probable cause. Morris is also suing the driver of the vehicle and the city for negligence during the December 2023 incident.
A rookie St. Louis police officer drove into the bar. James Pence, Morris’ husband, said the officer at the wheel claimed he swerved off the road to avoid hitting a stray dog. Another officer later said the driver was trying to turn his radio dial and got distracted. Video footage showed the officer running a red light before the crash.
The suit alleges that when Pence, who lived above the bar with Morris, walked outside to see what had happened, the officers asked him to show identification. He asked why he needed to share his ID, and then the police handcuffed him.
“None of the videos of the event show Pence disturbing the peace or doing anything illegal,” Morris’ lawyer Javad Khazaeli of Khazaeli Wyrsh wrote in a filing.
The lawsuit said officers walked Pence to the building’s gangway. Morris followed to ask why they were handcuffing Pence before the officers assaulted Morris, the filing says.
Police accused Morris of assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. He was charged with resisting arrest and felony assault before the resisting charge was dropped and the assault charge was reduced to a misdemeanor. A judge threw out the criminal case against Morris in October. James Pence, Morris’ husband, has filed a civil suit against two officers and the city.
“This was an embarrassment to the police department and to the city of St. Louis,” Khazaeli said. “Yet it seems like everybody's just doubled down. They kept my guy under charges until Halloween.”
Wednesday’s suit argues the charges against Morris were made up to cover up the police abuse.
A spokesperson said city officials cannot comment on pending litigation.
The suit says Morris was repeatedly punched in the face by then-SLMPD officer Ramelle Wallace. Morris said the assault caused severe bruising on his eye, cheek and body.
The suit contends that Wallace, who now works for the North County Police Cooperative, has committed misconduct before.
“With Defendant Wallace’s history of alleged misconduct, it is incomprehensible that he [is] still allowed to be an officer,” the suit reads.
Morris’ suit is the latest legal filing involving the crash. Khazaeli is also representing Pence in a civil suit.
“These two men who did nothing wrong have had to worry about being split up with one of them being sent to jail for doing nothing wrong,” Khazaeli said. “For being the victims of a crime, for being people from an underrepresented, persecuted minority.”
