Jerime Mitchell’s allies take case to Cedar Rapids council

CEDAR RAPIDS - Family, friends and allies of Jerime 'Danky” Mitchell said they play to attend Tuesday's Cedar Rapids City Council meeting to demand answers about the Nov. 1 traffic stop that left Mitchell paralyzed when an officer shot him.

Among the group's demands: release any police car dashboard camera images; give information about what led to the traffic stop and subsequent altercation between Mitchell and Officer Lucas Jones; take disciplinary action against Jones and order an independent investigation by someone other than the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Linn County Attorney's Office.

'We want some answers,” said Dante Land, Mitchell's nephew. 'We're just trying to get our voice out there.”

Authorities have said Jones pulled over Mitchell around 1:15 a.m. Nov. 1 on the lower part of Coe Road NE. The reason for the stop has not been disclosed. An altercation between the two men broke out, authorities have said without providing detail, that escalated when Jones shot Mitchell. Mitchell's family said the bullet entered his neck and lodged in his spine.

Police said Mitchell drove on after the shooting and crashed into an unmarked Cedar Rapids police sport utility vehicle before hitting a parked car. Land attributes the crashes to injuries Mitchell sustained, arguing that his injuries prevented him from controlling his vehicle.

The officer in the SUV had to be extricated, according to authorities. He was treated and released from a hospital. Jones, who remains on paid, administrative leave from the police force, was not seriously injured in the incident, police said.

Mitchell remains in at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Land said Mitchell will eventually have to be moved to a 24-hour care facility.

'He can't do much for himself,” Land said. 'He can't even wipe his own nose.”

Land said his uncle is 'normally in pretty good spirits,” but struggles some days.

Mitchell's family and friends are to be joined at the council meeting by representatives from the Iowa City chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice. Amanda Owen Van Horne, a member of SURJ, said the organization is focused on helping use 'our white privilege to support the needs of people of color.” She said the local chapter - which is about six months old and has a core group of 20 to 30 members - was invited by Mitchell's supporters to attend Tuesday's meeting.

'We're watching, we're noticing what's happening with this case,” Owen Van Horne said. 'We think that they and the police department need to take some action. They need to do things like release the dash camera footage, release the reason for the altercation.”

Owen Van Horne said the group is also calling on Jones - who was involved in a fatal shooting in October 2015, which was deemed justified - to be relegated to a desk job. They also want an independent investigation, arguing that the DCI and Linn County Attorney's Office have a vested interest in maintaining a positive relationship with the police department.

'It's really hard for me to believe they can be neutral,” Owen Van Horne said.

The shooting remains under investigation by the DCI. DCI Special Agent in Charge Rich Rahn could not be reached for comment Monday.