Hunter
12/21/21
The Iowa City Community Police Review Board has concluded their report involving the June 4, 2020 incident where members of the police department and Iowa State Patrol deployed munitions in an attempt to disburse a large crowd of protesters.
The board met eleven times this year to consider the complaint, starting on February 9th and wrapping up their discussions on December 13th, and because the members were divided in its opinions, voted 3 to 2 to not sustain the complaint.
According to their findings, disbursal commands could be heard in three of the five officer-worn body camera recordings, which led the board to believe that a large portion of the protesters were unable to hear the order to disburse. All five cameras recorded the entire incident. Authorities then deployed flash bangs, tear gas and OC sprays into the crowd.
While the majority of the board believe the Use of Force policy that existed at the time of the incident was not violated, they expressed concerns with some actions and conduct they found problematic.
Particularly disturbing to the board was the recordings that showed officers talking and laughing among themselves, kicking a canister towards a person who was on the ground , and spraying a protester who said “I just have a question” with her hands in the air. The footage also shows several officers simultaneously spraying one non-combative protester. It was difficult to distinguish which officers were with Iowa City Police and which were with the State Patrol.
The board considered filing its own complaint of discourtesy, but they didn’t have access to the videos of the incident until after the 180-day deadline to file a complaint had passed. The board recommended that the City change the code so that they have 180 days from the time it receives evidence of an event to file its own complaint , rather than from the time of the actual incident.
The board’s report concludes by saying, “While the changes made to the Use of Force Policy following this incident are beneficial steps that will hopefully prevent a recurrence of ICPD involvement in teargassing non-combative protesters, the internal climate portrayed in the body cameras of officers involved in this incident should be addressed.”
A link to the full report:
https://www.iowa-city.org/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=2038100&dbid=0&repo=CityofIowaCity&cr=1