Police review board: Iowa City officers didn’t use excessive force when deploying tear gas last year

IOWA CITY — The Iowa City Community Police Review Board has concluded that the use of flash bangs and tear gas by police officers during a Black Lives Matter protest last year was justified and did not violate the police department’s excessive force policy.

The five-member board was divided “even after lengthy deliberations,” according to a Dec. 13 report from the board. By a 3-2 vote, members decided to “not sustain” the complaint but raised concerns over how police acted when the tear gas was deployed.

The board received a complaint about the incident on June 4, 2020 — a day after Iowa City police and Iowa State Patrol officers used flash-bangs, tear gas and pepper sprays on protesters to keep the crowd off Interstate 80.

Starting on Feb. 9, the board met 11 times to consider various reports on the incident, including an independent review from California-based OIR Group. OIR Group’s report, released in January, had 39 recommendations, including adding training, clarifying agreements with other law enforcement agencies for aid and communicating better with demonstrators.

The review board also looked at video recordings, met with the police chief and discussed the incident in closed sessions.

The majority of the board agreed the department’s Use of Force policy — “as it existed at the time of the incident” — was not violated since deploying the munitions was to disperse the crowd.

The three board members said the continued use of tear gas and pepper spray was justified “since some protesters remained after the initial deployment and after being warned.”

Since the incident, the review board went over changes to the Use of Force policy in August 2020, and the changes were adopted by the police department, City Manager Geoff Fruin said.

Among the changes were rendering medical aid to someone who is injured and enhanced de-escalation language. An additional change was made this year to have officers call a supervisor to the scene as soon as practical when use of force is required, Fruin said.

Board members acknowledged the “beneficial steps” made in the Use of Force policy but said the “internal climate portrayed in the body cameras” should be addressed. “While the Board found no violation of policy, most Board members did express concerns with some actions and conduct they found problematic,” the report said.

Board members expressed concern in the report over law enforcement actions captured in the video and the culture of the department, saying “some of the officers in the tape seemed to be excited to have the opportunity to deploy munitions.”

“The laughter, insulting and dehumanizing comments, and remarks about how ‘amazing’ and ‘neat’ the gas was gave the appearance that some officers were detached from the harm they were causing,” the report said.

The board said it was “concerning” the dispersal order could not be heard in two of the five officer body cameras, “as this indicates that a large portion of the crowd of protesters was unable to hear the order.” All five of the cameras recorded, according to the report.

Police Chief Dustin Liston told the board the police department has invested in improved technology so messages reach everyone in any future crowd incidents, according to the report.

The board also said it was difficult to tell from the recordings which officers were with the city police department and which were with State Patrol. “That alone made this a very challenging incident to review, as we are only able to review complaints against Iowa City Police Officers,” the report said.

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