Articles Tagged: Cedar Rapids Police Department

The Cedar Rapids Police Department released body camera footage Thursday of the fatal officer-involved shooting of William Rich on Aug. 30.

With the school year already underway, the council’s vote ends a monthslong debate between city and school district officials over the presence of school resource officers mainly in middle schools.

“That's the best we could do as a council,” Mayor O’Donnell says after the school board declined the city’s offers to negotiate to keep the two additional school resource officers or to meet to discuss the program.

“It’s not logical to assume that five SROs will be able to do the work of seven,” the police chief said. City officials say changes account for the workload 5 instead of 7 SROs can handle after the school district removed them from middle schools.

Two officers exchanged gunfire with a driver they pulled over early Saturday, injuring the driver, authorities said.

Cedar Rapids school board president David Tominsky said the school board is not considering changing their decision on a contract for school resource officers after the mayor offered for the city to fund an additional two officers for middle schools.

Police found the man after responding to a report of a fight and potential stabbing.

The school board voted last month to decrease the number of police in schools to five, removing them from middle schools altogether.

The Marcus Wehrenberg Cedar Rapids Cinema implemented a new policy Friday requiring anyone under the age of 18 to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian over the age of 25 in order to see movies starting at 6 p.m. or later.

The city of Cedar Rapids plans to purchase a building for $2.5 million from United Fire Group to free up room at the police station and create more space for staff.

Cedar Rapids school board votes to reduce the number of school resource officers in schools from seven to five

As a vote approaches on the school district’s school resource officer agreement with the Cedar Rapids police, the school board agreed to prioritize convening community stakeholders to identify solutions addressing the root causes to behavioral issues in schools.

On Tuesday, about two blocks away from Saturday’s shooting, officers found a juvenile who was suffering from a gunshot wound in his foot.

As some school board members question whether police in schools promote a safer learning environment, city officials are unanimous in their backing of school resource officers. The school board has a work session Wednesday to guide its impending vote on school resource officers.

The shooting was a “targeted incident,” police said, and no arrest had been announced.