Next week, the civil lawsuit against the St. Louis police officers who escalated an embarrassing incident into national headlines will go to trial. In December 2023, St. Louis police crashed an SUV into South City gay bar Bar:PM and then arrested the bar’s co-owner when he complained. The other co-owner is suing over his own detention. And today in court, the judge said his attorneys will be able to get into the officer’s past actions.
Former St. Louis Metropolitan Police officer Ramelle Wallace was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene after the crash. Thirty seconds after he got there, he put the bar’s co-owner, James Pence, in handcuffs. Pence’s lawsuit alleges assault, battery, and false arrest. The other named defendant in the case is Joel Carvajal, a then-rookie officer who along with Wallace is alleged to have taken Pence into custody without probable cause. (Pence initially also sued the city, but later dismissed it from the case.) Wallace and Carvajal are represented by attorneys from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
This morning in a preliminary hearing, Pence’s attorneys Javad Khazaeli and Jack Waldron argued with attorneys from the AG’s office over what evidence the jury can hear…