Cedar Rapids police officer should be fired, says friend of man shot

CEDAR RAPIDS - A police officer who shot and badly wounded Jerime 'Danky” Mitchell during a Nov. 1 traffic stop should be fired, a friend of Mitchell's told City Council members Tuesday as other friends and relatives sought answers from the city.

Mitchell remains paralyzed, relatives said, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Cedar Rapids Officer Lucas Jones is on paid leave, which is standard, while state authorities review the shooting.

This is the second time Jones has been involved in a police shooting - the first time, an October 2015 fatality, the use of force was ruled justified.

Avery Cassell, 36, of Hiawatha, described himself as a longtime friend of Mitchell and expressed frustration with a system that in his view is not doing 'anything” about police shootings.

'We hear all over the world about the shooting and nobody is doing anything about it,” Cassell said. 'For an officer that has a history of shooting - killing somebody and now paralyzing somebody - that doesn't add up. Something needs to be done. They need to let him go.”

Mitchell, 37, was shot by Jones the morning of Nov. 1 on the lower part of Coe Road NE after authorities say a traffic stop escalated into an altercation. Few details of the incident - including why Jones pulled Mitchell over - have been made public as the investigation continues.

Before Tuesday's council meeting, Mitchell supporters released a list of demands, notably calling for the release of squad car dashboard camera footage, an explanation of why Mitchell was stopped and of what happened afterward.

While several people attended the meting - including Mitchell's niece, Shalyse Johnson, who livestreamed the proceedings on her smartphone while holding a poster-sized picture of her uncle's face - only four people addressed the council during a public comment period at the end of the three-hour session.

Bernard Clayton, who has spoken out on issues of race and policing in the past, said city government has 'heard the black community but has not really listened.” He said inherent problems exist that go beyond any one person.

'There is a problem within policing that has to be corrected,” he said. 'It has to be dealt with.”

Supporters of Mitchell, who is black, called for an independent investigation by someone other than the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Linn County Attorney's Office, arguing those agencies have a vested interest in maintaining a positive relationship with the police.

After the demands were made public but before the meeting, the city released a statement saying officials understand the concerns, but the dashboard camera footage would remain confidential for now.

'As with all investigations, there is a process that includes the collection, review, and analysis of facts, witness statements, information, and evidence,” the statement said. 'Early release of evidence, video footage, witness statements, etc. could jeopardize the integrity of the investigation of this incident.”

Tuesday's message from the city also included a statement from the Linn County Attorney's Office, which classified the footage as a confidential police record.

The city's statement noted 'utmost confidence” in the DCI to conduct an impartial investigation and in the Linn County Attorney to make an unbiased decision. The police department and Officer Jones have 'fully complied with DCI interview procedures,” the statement said.

After Tuesday's meeting, Mayor Ron Corbett said he, City Manager Jeff Pomeranz and Police Chief Wayne Jerman are 'all on the same page” about releasing the camera footage when the investigation concludes.

'We all want answers,” he said. 'The city is not hiding anything.”

l Comments: (319) 339-3177; brian.morelli@thegazette.com