Suits allege assault by Toledo officer condemned by the city

An Iowa city that publicly condemned one of its police officers for multiple instances of excessive force is now being sued for false arrest and assault.

In April, the city of Toledo in Tama County announced that as part of an internal investigation it had reviewed various body-camera videos involving several individuals arrested by Officer Kyle Howe. At the time, City Attorney Michael Marquess issued a statement indicating Howe had resigned.

Marquess added that after viewing the videos, city officials were “shocked and dismayed by Mr. Howe’s abhorrent behavior in what we believe to be several instances of unnecessary force. His actions and language in these instances do not reflect the values and integrity of the rest of the Toledo Police Department. The city condemns Mr. Howe’s behavior in the strongest possible way and has severed all ties with him.”

Prior to his resignation, Howe was the focus of a KCRG-TV report that included body-camera footage of him conducting a March traffic stop in which he physically restrained 31-year-old Shyla Wolf, who was suspected of driving while barred.

The Tama Toledo News Chronicle subsequently posted to its YouTube channel a series of videos from traffic stops conducted by Howe, some which show Howe pushing people to the ground and yelling, seemingly without provocation, “Stop resisting!”

Two separate lawsuits were filed this week against Howe and the city in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, each alleging false arrest, assault, battery, negligent supervision and civil rights violations.

One of the lawsuits was filed on behalf of Wolf, who was pulled over by Howe on March 30 on suspicion of driving without a valid license.

According to court records, Wolf had three small children with her in the car, ages 6, 8 and 10. Howe’s body-camera video, later made public, shows him telling Wolf she’s going to jail and Wolf attempting to call someone to come pick up her children.

Howe intervenes by telling her step out of the car. While attempting to arrest Wolf, Howe’s body camera falls offs, but he can he heard on the video telling her, “Stop resisting,” and, “Stop fighting or you’re going to get tased,” to which Wolf responds, “I’m not doing anything.” After two other officers arrived on the scene, Howe can be heard telling them, “Alright, we gotta figure out what’s going on with these kids. She was trying to get them involved to fight me. And then she decided she was going to fight me.”

Howe charged Wolf with three counts of felony child neglect, driving while barred and interference with official acts. Those charges are still pending.

Separately, attorneys for Lang Leonard of Tama County have filed a lawsuit against Howe and the city over a search warrant that Howe and other officers executed Feb. 7 at his home. The warrant was based on a report that a child had tested positive for methamphetamine after being inside the home.

One officer’s body-camera footage allegedly shows Howe approaching the door to Leonard’s residence and yelling, “Police, search warrant,” after which Howe immediately kicked down the door. Howe can then be heard screaming, “Let me see your hands,” and, “Get on the ground!”

The lawsuit alleges the video shows Leonard was already on the ground, positioned on his knees, and that he repeatedly responded, “I am on the ground.”

According to the lawsuit, Howe and another officer can then be seen slamming Leonard face first into the ground. With Howe on top of Leonard’s back, and Leonard’s hands trapped underneath his own body, Howe allegedly can be heard yelling, “Put your hands behind your back!” The lawsuit claims the video captures another officer yelling, “Do you wanna get tased?” and Howe yelling, “Taser, taser, taser!”

The video allegedly documents Leonard crying out in pain as the Taser was deployed.

“Officer Howe, as he’s tasing Leonard with his full body weight on Leonard’s back, can be heard yelling, “Stop resisting,” the lawsuit alleges. “Leonard was not resisting; he was being assaulted.”

Leonard, who was bleeding from his forehead, was then informed that he was being placed under arrest for interference with official acts, the lawsuit claims. Court records indicate no criminal charges were filed in the case.

The entire encounter reportedly lasted just over one minute.

The lawsuit also claims that while the video shows Howe wearing a body camera with a blinking red light, indicating it was recording, Police Chief Dan Quigley later reported Howe’s body-camera footage did not exist. The lawsuit and the search warrant indicate Quigley was on the scene when officers entered Leonard’s home.

“Howe intentionally deleted camera evidence of him assaulting Leonard in order to hide it,” the lawsuit alleges.

Howe and the city have yet to file a response to the lawsuit.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.