Sheriff: Using grenades made Missouri strip club raid safer

WENTZVILLE, Mo. – The Pulaski County sheriff is defending the use of flash-bang grenades in a raid on a cabaret club that had 50-60 people inside.

Sheriff Ron Long tells the Springfield News-Leader Thursday that the use of the explosives Oct. 11 at the After Dark club made the operation safer.

Long says undercover work before the raid revealed people in the club were likely to have weapons and drugs. He says four firearms were seized from the club and that one had been reported stolen.

An attorney for 33-year-old club owner Matthew Wagner has described the use of the grenades as dangerous.

Wagner was charged with allowing the dancers to be nude or semi-nude, being open after midnight and selling alcohol. Some female employees were cited with misdemeanors.

This story was originally published October 24, 2014 at 8:59 AM with the headline "Sheriff: Using grenades made Missouri strip club raid safer."