St. Louis Police File Felony Charge Against Bar:PM Owner After SUV Crash

Co-owner Chad Morris now faces a charge of felony assault on an officer

Dec 18, 2023 at 1:38 pm

The scene at Bar:PM in the wee hours of Monday morning. COURTESY BAR:PM STAFF

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard - Inline - Content",
            "component": "41932919",
            "insertPoint": "5th",
            "startingPoint": "3",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "3",
            "maxInsertions": 100
          }
          
        ]

A south St. Louis bar owner is now facing charges stemming from an incident that began when police crashed an SUV through the front wall of his business.

The incident happened in the city’s Carondelet neighborhood around 12:30 a.m. today, when a police SUV traveling northbound on South Broadway swerved across multiple lanes of traffic and into Bar:PM just as the LGBTQ bar was closing up.

The police probable cause statement associated with the charges against Bar:PM co-owner Chad Morris (who also goes by Chad Wick) alleges that Morris began to "scream obscenities" in the wake of the collision. The officer writes that Morris "struck me hard in the chest with an open hand, causing me to temporarily lose my balance." Morris then allegedly tried to flee into a gangway between the bar and another building, closing a gate on an officer as he did, according to the statement.

Morris is now facing a charge of felony assault on an officer and misdemeanor resisting arrest.

Bar:PM's other co-owner, James Pence, spoke to the RFT this morning and said that it was the police who came at bar staff aggressively, even beyond the fact they drove an SUV into their business.

Pence told the RFT he was upstairs when the entire building shook due to the crash. He came downstairs to an officer demanding to see his identification. When Pence refused, he was spun around and placed in handcuffs.

As for Morris, Pence said that he was filming the crash scene when three officers "went for him."

"He raised his arm and they said he hit them," Pence said.

click to enlarge

RYAN KRULL

Clean up outside Bar:PM this morning.

After Morris was arrested and booked, Judge Rochelle M. Woodiest ordered that he be held without bond.

The St. Louis Police have not responded to our requests seeking comment on the early morning incident.

This is a breaking story and we will update it as we learn more.

Update: The attorney for Bar:PM says bystander video contradicts the police account. See the latest.