A St. Louis police officer lit a cigar while astride a suspect he had restrained on the ground, forcing the department to launch a viral investigation.
A police officer was reportedly seen on video posted online over the weekend borrowing a lighter from another officer and stogieing outside the Marquee Restaurant and Lounge in St. Louis. Riverfront Times.
The officer, who has not been identified, was seen placing his right arm against the suspect’s chest and lighting a cigar with his free hand.
Bystanders and the suspect joked to the officer, “He also has a lighter.”
One witness who was filming the exchange quipped, “Pull out the lighter, bro.” “No, don’t pull it out. They might think you have a gun.”
At one point, the suspect turned onto his back and tried to let go.
However, the officer grabbed the suspect’s arm with his free hand, restricting his movement.
“Put your hat on that guy, at least you can,” the witness implored the man.
This video, which has been viewed over 262,000 times, was first uploaded. votp_news Instagram.
The officer was working a second job at a popular nightspot in downtown St. Louis, about a mile from the historic Gateway Arch, the department confirmed to the department.
Lounge employees had asked police to remove the man from the venue shortly before the video was recorded.
The suspect was taken into custody on charges of trespassing on private property and resisting arrest, the newspaper said.
Some officers at the scene were wearing body cameras, but the footage has not yet been released.
After the video went viral, SLMPD began an internal investigation into the incident to “better understand the context of the situation, how the video was taken, and what happened next,” police said. According to KTVI.
No injuries were reported.
It is not clear when the smoke-filled arrest took place.
