Lang
8/25/20
The man who hit Black Lives Matter protestors with his car Friday night said they needed an “attitude adjustment”.
That’s according to arrest records for 45-year-old Michael Stepanek of Nevada Avenue, who was taken into custody and booked into the Johnson County Jail just before 2:30 Tuesday afternoon.
The Friday night protest, led by the group Iowa Freedom Riders, started with a rally on the Pentacrest before turning into a march through downtown. At one point when the march was stopped in the intersection of Burlington and Gilbert Streets, a Twitter video shows Stepanek stopped behind other vehicles on the eastbound 300 block of Burlington Street, honking his horn. He eventually makes a U-turn while squealing his tires.
Police say Stepanek then shut off his lights, drove around the block, and turned south on Gilbert, pulling up to the Burlington Street intersection where there were no cars between him and the protestors. That’s when a second Twitter video shows Stepanek’s car hit multiple victims before turning east on Burlington Street and speeding away. One person who was struck complained of pain afterward.
Iowa City Police released a statement Saturday night saying an officer in an unmarked car saw Stepanek speeding away from the intersection, but didn’t know it had hit protestors. The officer noted the license plate, but was unable to follow the vehicle due to traffic and pedestrian congestion.
The online Iowa City Police Activity Log shows a man called police at 8:40pm Saturday saying someone jumped on the hood of his car at that intersection. The caller claimed the man had also blocked his path with several bicycles and was standing in front of him. The driver also accused the man of ripping off his windshield wipers while on his hood and trying to do what he termed “more damage” to his car. The caller said he was going to drive to the corner of Governor and Brown Streets near Happy Hollow Park to meet with an officer. There is no indication if the caller was Stepanek.
Stepanek is charged with Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon Causing Injury and Willful Injury Causing Bodily Injury. If convicted on both charges, he faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.
The ICPD says additional victims who were struck by Stepanek’s vehicle should contact investigator Mike Smithey at 319-356-5452. However, some protestors say they have no plans to contact the police. Iowa Freedom Riders organizer Raneem Hamad told the Press-Citizen on Monday, “I think you can understand when we seek safety, we don’t go to the people who’ve harmed us,” referring to the police brutality against which his group is protesting.