ISU officer fired after hitting two vehicles in car chase

A former Iowa State University police officer fired for engaging in a high-speed pursuit against department policy, during which she hit two vehicles — including one that then struck an apartment building — has been ordered to return the unemployment benefits she collected after being placed on administrative leave.

McKenna Rich, who started as an ISU police officer Dec. 17, 2021, was placed on leave Oct. 9 — the day of the car chase — and terminated Nov. 2, according to an administrative law judge decision handed down this month.

“The fact that (Rich) hit a car when she entered the intersection and it hit a nearby building demonstrates that the general public was put in danger due to (her) actions,” according to the judge’s findings. “(Rich’s) decision not to slow down or stop were intentional and deliberate actions.”

Rich could not be reached for comment for this article.

In December, after being fired from ISU, Rich attended a Des Moines Police Department forum aimed at recruiting female officers. Rich told KCCI-TV she has worked in law enforcement in Ames for two years and hoped to join Des Moines police as a detective.

“I like to solve the cases. I like to interview. I love to type reports,” she told the TV reporter. “So I know being a detective would be a good spot for me once I work up to that, as long as I can get there.”

The chase

The events precipitating her termination and subsequent collection of unemployment insurance benefits occurred when Rich, while on duty Oct. 9, heard on the police radio about a pursuit involving a vehicle heading the wrong way on Highway 30, according to state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Bureau records.

The pursuit involved a Story County sheriff’s deputy, and an ISU police captain radioed out instructions to not get involved unless requested. When a dispatcher asked if Rich was in the area, Rich said she was and was going to “stage” at a nearby intersection.

When Rich saw the suspect driving recklessly and the deputy in pursuit, she asked whether he needed assistance. She reported hearing the deputy get on the radio and ask for assistance in blocking the suspect, compelling her to engage.

The deputy leading the pursuit tried to stop the suspect with a maneuver designed to force the vehicle to spin out, leaving both vehicles temporarily stopped at the intersection. Rich, having joined the pursuit, “approached the vehicles at a high rate of speed and had to switch lanes to the outside lane to avoid the vehicles,” records show. “When (Rich) did this, she was unable to stop and collided with an uninvolved vehicle.”

As the chase continued, a second sheriff’s deputy arrived and “activated his air horn to attempt to get her to move so he could get past and assist.” But Rich interpreted the horn to mean she should continue pursuing, and “left the vehicle she struck and did not provide instructions to the uninvolved vehicle.”

Now separating the two sheriffs deputies involved in the chase, Rich ended up leading the pursuit when a deputy’s second attempt at forcing the fleeing vehicle to stop failed.

As the chase headed toward Campus Avenue at 55 mph — more than double the 25 mph speed limit — the suspect ran a stop sign and Rich followed, also without stopping, according to the records.

Rich did tap her brake and slow to 53 mph, according to the investigation, reporting the suspect at one point stopped his vehicle for a pedestrian at an intersection. “When the suspect did this, (Rich) had to swerve her vehicle to avoid hitting the subject.”

The suspect then continued through another intersection without stopping, and Rich followed. In the process, she hit another vehicle that then hit an apartment building.

Rich then stopped engaging in the pursuit, which had lasted about three minutes.

An internal ISU police investigation found Rich “violated direct orders not to engage in the pursuit, exercised extreme lack of judgment, acting recklessly without due regard for public safety by way of striking two uninvolved vehicles during the pursuit.”

She was fired for violating direct orders, running red lights before turning on her lights and sirens, not checking intersections before entering, forcing vehicles from their lanes, speeding without slowing to make sure intersections were clear and hitting two cars.

She filed for unemployment benefits Oct. 29 and received $2,328 between that date and Dec. 9 — compelling ISU to appeal Dec. 14.

Previous violations

The October chase wasn’t Rich’s first alleged violations with the department, having been involved in a pursuit April 24, 2023. Following that incident, ISU determined she had violated department directives and state law by “not operating her patrol vehicle with due regard to public safety.”

At that time, she had to meet with a driving instructor of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, although she wasn’t told her job was in jeopardy if she again violated policies.

On Sept. 23, ISU received a complaint about a search Rich had conducted, prompting an investigation that found Rich engaged in an unconstitutional detention and coerced the person into producing incriminating evidence by threatening to conduct an unconstitutional search. That investigation was open when the Oct. 9 chase occurred.

The administrative law judge’s findings referenced these prior incidents, noting ISU “presented substantial and credible evidence: that (Rich) was aware of the policies and received corrective training to address the issues.”

“Despite the additional trainings, (Rich) continued to engage in similar behavior. This is disqualifying misconduct. Benefits are denied.”

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com