Iowa’s state officers rarely fire their guns

It's uncommon for officers under the Iowa Department of Safety umbrella - including Iowa State Patrol troopers and Division of Narcotics Enforcement agents - to fire a weapon while on duty.

When considering just the state's narcotics officers - like the two undercover agents involved in last week's fatal shooting east of Iowa City - it's rare for them to use any kind of force at all, including hands, feet and batons, according to statistics out of the Department of Public Safety.

And among those officers in Iowa who do use force, it's almost unheard of for them to face criminal charges.

But, per standard procedure, the two agents involved in the Thursday shooting that erupted during an undercover narcotics investigation in the Breckenridge Estates mobile home park, 4494 Taft Ave. SE, have been placed on paid administrative leave pending a review of their decision to use force.

According to court documents, the two officers showed up at the mobile home about 6:30 p.m. to meet with a group of suspects, who had advance knowledge that the men would bring with them a large amount of cash to buy illegal narcotics. During the transaction, two men emerged from a backroom - one carrying a handgun and one with a club - and threatened the undercover officers, according to a criminal complaint.

Ivan Hardemon, 22, was killed at the scene, and Demarco Dudley, 22, was shot and injured. It's not yet known what role Hardemon might have had in the transaction. The state agents were uninjured.

In the 2012 budget year, which ended June 30, state narcotics agents used force only two times, according to Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Jessica Lown. That covers all uses of force, including non-lethal techniques.

In each of the two budget years before that, narcotics agents used force just three times, Lown said.

“It is a smaller division and it has a fewer number of sworn peace officers,” she said. “But, fortunately, these things happen infrequently for us.”

Shootings involving state officers have been even more uncommon in recent years, Lown said. From the 2010 to the 2012 budget years, there were just three shootings involving state agents or troopers - one per year, according to Lown.

The incident Thursday in Johnson County is the first fatal officer-involved shooting in Iowa this year, said Terry L. Hudik, justice systems analyst for the Iowa Department of Human Rights Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning and Statistical Analysis Center.

Hudik said officer-involved shootings are always reviewed. Still, he said, he can't recall a law enforcement officer - at least in recent history - being charged in connection with an on-duty shooting in Iowa.

Three men suspected to have been involved or at least present during Thursday's shooting have been arrested and face felony charges.

Dudley faces a charge of first-degree robbery in connection with the undercover narcotics investigation gone wrong. He's being held in the Johnson County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.

His brother, Norman Dudley, 20, was present for the fatal shooting, according to authorities, but he was charged with a controlled substance violation in connection with an earlier incident. He's accused of selling 14.1 grams of cocaine to an undercover officer for $950 on Aug. 14, according to a criminal complaint. He is being held on a $25,000 cash-only bond.

John Mulbah, 20, also faces a controlled substance violation in connection with an incident earlier in the week. Mulbah is accused of selling cocaine to an undercover officer for $850 on Aug. 13, according to a criminal complaint. He's being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond.