St. Louis cop involved in beat down covered up incident, filed no report, faced previous abuse lawsuits

Police said today that officers who use force are required to prepare reports explaining their actions and who was injured or killed.

No report was filed and no arrest made in the New Year's Day incident involving a patrolman videotaped hitting a man with a baton and spraying him with pepper spray, police have said.

The police department said it is investigating why no reports were filled out detailing what happened. Police said internal affairs detectives are trying to interview everyone involved in the 2:30 a.m. encounter at a Shell gas station at 1815 Arsenal Street. [...]

Ries has previously been named in two lawsuits accusing him of excessive force.

A 2008 federal suit alleged that Ries assaulted two men with his police baton and pepper spray while he was working off-duty at the Big Bang piano bar on Laclede's Landing in April 2006. Al Johnson, a Clayton attorney for the plaintiffs, said his clients were initially charged with assault but the charges were later dropped. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and Johnson said he was barred from disclosing the amount.

"I'm glad he got caught this time, maybe enough to where the police department can fire him," Johnson said of Ries.

A 2005 civil suit in St. Louis alleged that Ries struck a man on the head with his baton and sprayed him with pepper spray in an on-duty traffic stop on North Grand Boulevard in September 2004. Records show that case was dismissed; it was unclear Tuesday whether a settlement was reached.