Grand jury verdict to be announced today in Cedar Rapids officer-involved shooting

CEDAR RAPIDS - Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden is to announce a grand jury's verdict this afternoon in the case of an officer-involved shooting that took place Nov. 1 during a traffic and left motorist Jerime Mitchell paralyzed.

Vander Sanden said in a news release the news conference is at 2:30 p.m. at the Linn County Courthouse, 50 Third Ave. Bridge. You can watch the conference live from The Gazette. The verdict determines if Cedar Rapids Police Officer Lucas Jones is to be indicted or if his use of force is ruled justified.

This is the first grand jury involving an officer-involved shooting to be convened in Linn County in an estimated 10 years. Last week, Vander Sanden said the grand jury of seven members, randomly selected from the county, would be convened this month but didn't say when.

Mitchell, 38, a black man, was pulled over by Jones, who is white, about 1:15 a.m. Nov. 1 on the lower part of Coe Road NE. Police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation have said an altercation ensued and Jones fired his gun at Mitchell.

Mitchell was shot in the neck. Relatives have said he is paralyzed.

No other information about what led to the shooting - or the reason for the traffic stop - has been made public.

Paula Roby, Mitchell's attorney, said she was blindsided by the news of today's news conference to announce the grand jury verdict. She said Mitchell wasn't allowed to give a statement to the grand jury, as she was led to believe he would be by Vander Sanden and the DCI.

She said she was scheduled to take Mitchell's statement on Dec. 13. She said he is now being treated outside of Iowa.

'Jerime has been adamant from the beginning that he wanted to give a statement that would be presented to the grand jury before they viewed the dash cam video,” Roby said. 'Unfortunately, he was unable to speak until recently.”

Roby said Mitchell's family is 'shocked and very disappointed ... they are extremely upset.” She added she doesn't intend to be at the news conference.

Vander Sanden could not be reached for comment by The Gazette. A staff member in his office said he wasn't offering comments before the news conference.

This marks the first time in an officer-involved shooting case that Vander Sanden has not made a determination by himself after reviewing evidence.

In announcing last month he'd convene a grand jury in this case, Vander Sanden said it was the best option 'under the circumstances.”

The Gazette plans to live stream the news conference on its Facebook page.

Meanwhile, members of the Cedar Rapids African American community plan to hold a meeting at 7 p.m. at Mount Zion Baptist Church, 6621 C Ave. NE, to address the grand jury announcement.

The meeting was announced in a news release from the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP. 'Concerned citizens are invited to join us for this important meeting to outline a constructive path forward,” the press release states.

The Gazette will be streaming the press conference live starting at 2:30 p.m.