Iowa City officers cleared in shooting

IOWA CITY - No charges will be filed in the Dec. 4 shooting of an Iowa City man in which police officers used reasonable force, Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said Monday.

Chad Newmire, 21, of 1009 Summit St., was reaching for a gun when three officers fired a .40-caliber handgun, a stun gun and a beanbag gun, Lyness said at a news conference announcing the close of the investigation into the shooting.

“It's very clear their actions were justified and they took the appropriate action,” Lyness said. “Fortunately, Mr. Newmire did not die from his injuries.”

Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine said Officer Aliro Arcenas, who fired the handgun, perceived a threat and was protecting the other officers, who had non-lethal weapons.

Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Matt George said Newmire suffered eight wounds: one shot each to his right thigh, lower abdomen, right side and right shoulder; two marks from the stun gun and abrasions from the bean bags.

Newmire had told a negotiator more than once before the officers fired that he intended to draw the 9 mm handgun in his waistband, Lyness said.

Newmire said in an interview after the shooting that the officers had to shoot him or he would have shot himself, she said.

Lyness said charges will not be filed because Newmire cooperated in the investigation and intended to harm only himself.

According to the officials and video- and audiotapes of the incident presented at the news conference:

- Newmire, who works at a bar in Iowa City, was driving to Cedar Rapids with a friend after work when his car went into a ditch on Interstate 380 about 3:40 a.m. on Dec. 4.

- Newmire and his friend got into another car with some friends who were following and continued to Cedar Rapids.

- An Iowa State trooper caught up with Newmire in Cedar Rapids and took him back to Iowa City. Newmire was issued three traffic citations resulting from the accident for open container, failure to maintain control and a registration violation.

- While in the trooper's car, Newmire sent text messages to family and friends saying he had suicidal thoughts and was making plans to give away his belongings.

- Newmire's father called the police about 6:10 a.m. because he was concerned for his son and asked police to conduct a welfare check.

- When Arcenas arrived, he found Newmire and his roommate outside the house, burning items that belonged to Newmire on the front sidewalk.

- Arcenas called for backup when Newmire said he had a gun tucked into his waistband. When the other officers arrived, they evacuated and cordoned off the area.

- Officer Dennis Kelly began negotiations with Newmire. He attempted to get Newmire to leave and go to the hospital but Newmire refused.

- About 30 minutes into the negotiations Newmire said he “can't do this anymore. I don't want to reach for my gun but at this point it's get shot at or … ”

- Officer Ashley Hamblin, armed with a stun gun edged closer to Newmire, who told her to stop.

- Gunfire erupted after officers yelled “don't do it” and “get your hand off it” and Newmire said “I'm sorry.”

George said it appeared Arcenas, Hamblin and Officer Eric Lippold, armed with bean bag rounds, filed simultaneously.

Five gunshot rounds, five bean bags and the stun gun were fired at Newmire, George said.

Arcenas, who was placed on administrative leave, which is standard protocol for an officer involved in a shooting, is back at work, Hargadine said.

The last officer-related shooting in Iowa City was July 24, 2009, when off-duty Johnson County Sheriff's Deputy Terry Stotler shot and killed John Deng, 26, of Iowa City, after Deng stabbed and continued to threaten another man.