After nearly two years of legal entanglements, the criminal case against Chad Morris, co-owner of Bar: PM, was dismissed, putting an end to the saga that began when a St. Louis police vehicle barreled into his establishment. According to FOX 2 Now, the dismissal took place following a judge's decision on a misdemeanor charge initially stemming from the December 18, 2023, incident, which caused a stir and sparked outrage due to conflicting reports and troubling actions by law enforcement at the scene.
In an incident that raised a litany of questions about police conduct, a law enforcement SUV crashed into Bar: PM after running three stoplights, said Javad Khazaeli, Morris's attorney, the police not testing the officer for alcohol or drugs, and instead swiftly turning their attention to Morris, who alleges he was wrongfully handcuffed within moments of stepping out to assess the damage, according to details highlighted in a FOX 2 Now report.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has reportedly declined to comment on the case's dismissal. While the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office cited their efforts to comply with a court order, although ultimately their actions did not meet the court's requirements, leading to the judge's decision to dismiss, they said they would not appeal the ruling; the legal outcome suggests a rebuke of the initial law enforcement and prosecutorial handling of the incident, as mentioned in a KSDK article.
Adding to the layers of this case, Morris's spouse, James Pence, who co-owns the bar, has been involved in legal action against the city of St. Louis, filing a lawsuit against two officers who responded to the aftermath of the crash, and the trial set for January 5, as per information provided in a First Alert 4 report.
