Capitol Notebook: Iowa AG’s office says Franklin County officers acted with legal justification in fatal shooting

Two Franklin County officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Hampton man who was wielding a pellet gun will not be charged, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office determined Monday.

The attorney general’s office reviewed the case and determined that the actions of Franklin County deputies Chase Weinandy and Ben Baskerville were “legally justified” and that no criminal charges are warranted, according to the office’s report.

On June 20, the officers responded to a 911 call from a woman who said her former partner, Matthew Davis, was at her home armed with a gun, intoxicated, and suicidal, with their son inside the house, according to the attorney general’s report. When the officers reached the house, they attempted to convince Davis to drop his gun, asking him to do so at least 17 times, according to the report.

Eventually, according to the report, Davis began to approach the officers and raised the arm in which he was carrying the gun. At that point, Baskerville fired his rifle, hitting Davis in the abdomen, according to the report. Davis died on the way to the hospital.

Further investigation revealed that the gun Davis was holding was a pellet gun, according to the report. The report says “there was no way for the deputies to know what type, make, or model the pistol was during the incident,” and noted that officers had been informed by 911 dispatch that Davis’ former partner said Davis had a real gun.

The attorney general’s review determined that the officers’ decision to fire at Davis “was reasonable under the circumstances,” and that by his actions, Davis “set in motion and continued the circumstances that brought about this death.”

High mobile phone usage

In a survey at the Iowa State Fair this month, state traffic safety officials found a majority of respondents admitted to using a mobile device in their hands while driving, but 85 percent of surveyed fair goers still said they would support a law to ban the practice.

The Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau and Iowa State Patrol surveyed Iowa fair goers about their mobile device and seat belt habits while driving.

According to the agencies, 51 percent of Iowa drivers said they always or sometimes have a mobile device in hand while driving. Of the 1,459 respondents, 85 percent supported a law that would require cellphones be used only in hands-free mode while driving.

Iowa lawmakers have made efforts to ban mobile device use while driving unless in hands-free mode for years, but the legislation has never cleared the hurdles needed to become law. This year, a bill was passed in the Senate but stalled in the House.

Texting and sending other messages while driving is illegal in Iowa, but using a cellphone for other purposes, such as navigation, is not.

The vast majority of respondents — 91 percent — said they always wear a seat belt while driving. But only 66 percent said they always buckle up while riding in the backseat. Iowa law does not require passengers over 18 to wear a seat belt in a vehicle's backseat.

Unemployment insurance rates to remain at lowest level

Iowa employers will pay the lowest possible rates for unemployment insurance in 2024 for the second year in a row, Iowa Workforce Development announced Monday.

Iowa law uses a formula to determine unemployment tax rates for employers every year, imposing rates from among eight possible tables. Taxes this year will remain in the lowest of these tables, at rates between zero and 7 percent.

The formula is based on the balance in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, unemployment benefit history and covered wage growth, according to the agency.

Unemployment insurance taxes were collected at the same rate this year.

“Today’s announcement will be welcome news to any Iowa business that may be fearing the impact of the uncertainty in the economy on a national level,” Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement. “We have done everything possible to insulate Iowa employers from ongoing inflation and other rising costs and our efforts have ensured that the tax burden for employers in Iowa will be the lowest possible rate for the second time in the last 25 years.”