ST. LOUIS — One of the officers at the center of the crash into a St. Louis bar and the corresponding arrest is no longer employed with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the department confirmed Tuesday.
A department spokesperson said they could not comment on personnel matters but that Ramelle Wallace was no longer employed with the department as of August 2024. Wallace was the officer that arrived on the scene after the Bar:PM crash and arrested bar owner Chad Morris.
Morris is still facing charges of third-degree assault of a police officer and resisting arrest.
The incident occurred on Dec. 18 at Bar:PM, a well-known gay bar on South Broadway. A police SUV crashed into the building's façade, and after conflicting reports, police said another officer was distracted by using his police radio while driving. Surveillance video shows a police SUV driving at high speed and running stop lights before losing control and crashing into the building.
Within minutes of the crash, James Pence, one of the owners of the gay bar, had been handcuffed; Morris, his partner, was arrested and later charged with a misdemeanor after an alleged physical altercation with one of the responding officers. Wallace was the first officer to respond to the scene after the crash.
The police spokesperson said Wallace joined the department in 2008.
There is also a lawsuit for a 2019 case on South Broadway, which accused Wallace of arresting a man out of retaliation and shattering his clavicle, left proximal tibia and fibula after an arrest. This case was settled earlier this year.
During a July hearing on Morris' ongoing criminal case, prosecutors said they intend to bring the case to trial but said they aren't sure if Wallace will appear as a witness.
There will be another hearing in the case on Thursday.