ST. LOUIS - Police said Anthony K. Barsh tried to assault a city officer by speeding at him with a car.

Barsh said he didn't.

His girlfriend broke the tie when she obtained surveillance video that apparently led St. Louis prosecutors to drop charges that could have sent Barsh, 27, of St. Louis, to prison.

David Stokely, one of Barsh's attorneys, said his client sat in jail for two months and paid hundreds of dollars to defend himself against false accusations.

"The video clearly shows that the officer lied in the police report," Stokely said.

Lawyer Eric Barnhart took the same video to St. Charles County on Thursday morning and showed it to a prosecutor who was recommending that Barsh's probation on a stealing conviction there be revoked. The prosecutor then withdrew his petition.

"At best, it's a mistake. At worst, it's perjury," Barnhart said. "People remember things wrong. But the video doesn't lie."

Police Chief Dan Isom said he was frustrated that prosecutors did not notify the department of the allegation of possible misconduct.

"It's difficult for us to make sure we've cleaned house when parts of the justice system don't do their part," Isom said. "I'm very upset that we were never notified. This should have come to our attention immediately."

Isom said the department learned from the Post-Dispatch that the cases were dropped.

"We may have two officers who falsified a police report, and we were never notified of that," Isom said.

The department said internal affairs detectives were investigating.

In court documents, the prosecutors did not mention the video specifically but wrote, "Continuing investigation has disclosed evidence which diminishes the prosecutive merits of this case."

Rachel Smith of the circuit attorney's office said Thursday she could not comment. Generally speaking, Smith said: "We encourage anyone with information that suggests the person charged is not guilty to bring it in as soon as possible. That's crucial to making sure that justice works."

St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas said the probation revocation was dropped because "we felt like that we were going to have problems with the credibility of witnesses." Barsh pleaded guilty of stealing in 2006 and got five years' probation.

The videotaped incident began with an anonymous phone call to police July 16, reporting possible drug sales by a man in a white car on a convenience store lot in the 3100 block of Delmar Boulevard. Officers Kyle Howerton and Jerod Breit responded.

Breit, who drove the patrol car, wrote in the official report: "P.O. (police officer) Howerton approached the suspect vehicle and stated to the driver 'police stop.' I then observed the vehicle to move forward toward the exit where P.O. Howerton was positioned."

Breit said he got back into the car and then "observed the suspect vehicle turn toward P.O. Howerton and rapidly accelerate. I observed the suspect vehicle appear to strike P.O. Howerton's right leg, causing him to move in a backward motion away from the vehicle toward our patrol car."

The officers lost sight of the car but spotted it again later and arrested Barsh after a brief pursuit and foot chase. They said they found what appeared to be drugs about 15 feet from him.

Prosecutors charged Barsh the next day with assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. No drug charges were filed.

Howerton signed a court document that said he "approached the defendant's vehicle (at) which time he drove at me, forcing me to move out of the way. The defendant then drove away."

Barsh's girlfriend, Jennifer Mitchell, said she went to the store, One Stop Mini Mart and Package, and obtained a surveillance video.

"I knew Anthony wouldn't try to hit a police officer," Mitchell told a reporter Thursday. "He didn't do what they said."

Stokely took the video to the prosecutors, who withdrew the St. Louis charges on Sept. 9. A police spokeswoman said late Thursday that Howerton had been terminated and Breit had been placed on administrative suspension pending the outcome of an investigation.

In the video, Barsh is seen driving a white 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix that turns right out of the lot onto Delmar as a patrol car arrives from the left. Officer Howerton is seen running toward the side of the Pontiac. He then appears to veer to his left to keep from running into the side of the moving car.

Barnhart said the report from a probation officer seemed to add confusion with a summary that didn't match the police report.

"The driver reversed the car, and then sped up directly at P.O. Howeron. The driver, later identified as Barsh, attempted to run over PO Howerton who barely got out of the way, but his leg was slightly bumped by the car as he quickly jumped backward."

The probation officer, Joseph Spence, cited the event as evidence that Barsh was violent and should go to prison.

Barsh's mother, Katherine Barsh, acknowledged in an interview that her son has gotten into trouble in the past, but she said he's not violent. She said the incident shook her faith in police.

"You are supposed to be able to believe them and trust them," she said. "How can you trust someone when they are lying on him?"

Stokely noted that earlier this year, prosecutors charged St. Louis police Officer Stephen Conrad, 29, with perjury when he swore under oath in a deposition last year that a man had tried to hit him with a car. Claims in court documents say Conrad was never in front of the vehicle, and the suspect never attempted to strike him.

Conrad has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Said Stokely, "I think they should treat all officers the same."