- A St. Louis police officer was filmed lighting a cigarette while making an arrest
- The officer is seen pinning a man to the ground while casually turning on
- An investigation into the officer’s conduct is now underway.
A St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer is the subject of an investigation after footage showed him lighting a cigarette while making an arrest.
In the video, which was filmed last weekend, an officer is seen pinning a man to the ground with his knee as he leans into the flame of a lighter with the cigarette in his mouth.
The police officer can be seen with one hand on the man’s chest while the other is on the cigarette.
Other members of law enforcement who were present during the arrest only serve to assist the police officer, and one of them offers him the lighter.
A St. Louis police officer was filmed lighting a cigarette while making an arrest
The officer is seen pinning a man to the ground while casually turning on
The suspect, still pinned to the ground, makes little effort to free himself as the office takes a few drags on his cigarette.
A friend of the suspect can be heard yelling some advice.
‘Take out your lighter, brother!’ the man shouts, as he laughs, before quickly rethinking his strategy.
‘No, don’t take it out. They might think you have a gun,’ he shouts.
SLMPD’s Information and Public Affairs Division is aware of the video and of an internal investigation that has been launched to establish “what led up to the video and the events that occurred afterwards.”
The officer involved had been working a second job at Marquee Lounge on Locust Street, pictured above, at the time of the incident.
The officer involved had been working a second job at Marquee Lounge on Locust Street at the time of the incident.
Moments before the video began playing, salon staff had requested that the suspect be removed from the premises.
The man was eventually arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest, although charges are still pending in the case.