Iowa attorney general: Officer-involved shooting in Tama was justified

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office issued a report Friday concluding that a fatal officer-involved shooting in Tama County in July, in which a man told police to shoot him while threatening them with an airsoft gun that looked real, was justified.

According to the report, Tama County dispatch got a call around 1 a.m. July 5 asking for a welfare check on 19-year-old Logan Kurth, who had told the caller over video call that he was intoxicated and wanted to kill himself. The caller could see on the video that Kurth had what looked like a handgun.

Police from the Tama Police Department, Toledo Police Department and Tama County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call. They talked to Kurth’s family members, who confirmed he was acting erratically, including threatening his grandmother over the phone while she was speaking with officers.

Officers found Kurth near 13th Street in Tama at 1:37 a.m., with what they believed was a handgun. He ignored commands to drop the weapon and told officers to shoot him. He approached Officer Igor Dias and Lt. Nathan Wunn, both of the Toledo Police Department, who were both standing so their squad cars were between them and Kurth.

Kurth advanced on Wunn, going around the squad car until they were both on the same side of it, then pointed his handgun, later found to be an airsoft pistol, at Wunn, after telling the officer again to shoot him: “Just do one shot,” the report states.

Wunn fired three rounds at Kurth, causing him to collapse. Officers rendered medical aid until an ambulance arrived, and Kurth was taken to the Marshall County Hospital, where he was declared dead.

According to the report, Kurth had a history of mental health and substance use issues. He had recently been released from inpatient treatment related to a pending burglary charge from January in which he was alleged to have stolen an AR-15 rifle from a family member.

“Kurth had previously informed family members that he would die before he went back to jail,” the report states. “Roughly an hour before the shooting, he texted a family member, ‘This is it. I’m going to take out the cops. Someone’s dying tonight. It’s probably me.’”

The shooting was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Attorney General’s Office reviewed that investigation in order to reach its conclusion that no criminal charges against Wunn are warranted.

“When officers located Kurth he advanced directly toward them. He repeatedly ignored commands to drop his handgun and instead continued to advance on the officers, demanding that they shoot him. Despite that, they did not fire, instead adjusting their positions to give themselves cover,” the report states.

“Once Kurth rounded the corner of the SUV, Lt. Wunn no longer had any cover. Even then, Wunn did not open fire until Kurth raised his arm and aimed his handgun directly at him. Wunn was justified in using deadly force to prevent the imminent threat against his own life and those of the other officers in the area.”

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