Iowa Justice Alliance demands changes in wake of traffic-stop shooting

CEDAR RAPIDS — Officer-involved shootings should be looked into by independent investigators and handled by special prosecutors if referred to a grand jury, the social activism group Iowa Justice Alliance announced Saturday in making a dozen demands in the wake of a traffic-stop shooting three months ago.

Organizers unveiled the list during a 'Standing in Solidarity' demonstration inspired by the case of Jerime Mitchell, a black motorist who was shot and paralyzed by white Cedar Rapids Office Lucas Jones during a Nov. 1 incident.

A grand jury absolved Jones of criminal wrongdoing. As of late last month, he was on paid administrative leave with the police force.

Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden has said a probe by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the grand jury review found that Mitchell physically attacked Jones, who fired his gun to prevent Mitchell from dragging him as Mitchell tried to flee.

Authorities said Mitchell had a pound of marijuana in his truck and appeared to be on the cusp of a drug deal.

But questions have continued to swirl over why authorities did not obtain a statement from Mitchell before the grand jury ruled and why a microphone on Jones was not functioning and failed to capture audio from the altercation — although a police camera did record images.

Organizers said Saturday's event, at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, was an opportunity to send a message to officials about the need for conversations on reforms in the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Linn County Attorney's Office.

'We're hoping the announcement of our 12-step program is a start,' said Betty Andrews, president of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP and event facilitator.

The list was created over the last several weeks by organizers of the Iowa Justice Alliance, and the hundreds who attended Saturday showed no opposition to endorsing the demands.

Some of items specifically address the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Linn County Attorney's Office.

Other items refer to practices the group hopes would improve community relations — such as a requirement that officers live in the communities they police.

The group also said Police Chief Wayne Jerman and Vander Sanden should meet with Mitchell's family to answer questions about the shooting. Family members including his mother, Louise Mitchell, and wife, Bracken Mitchell, attended the event.

Anna Sheetz, minister of youth, adult and servanthood at First Presbyterian Church in Iowa City and a cousin of Bracken Mitchell, described Saturday's demonstration as a start to facilitate conversations.

State Rep. Liz Bennett, D-Cedar Rapids, who attended, spoke about her intention to propose legislation in support of the group's principles.

Larry Rogers Jr., an attorney for Mitchell, said he plans to file a lawsuit. One issue, he said, is the lack of testimony from Mitchell.

Vander Sanden has said there had been 'multiple' attempts to obtain a statement from Mitchell. Another attorney for Mitchell said testimony was scheduled, but she was blindsided to learn the grand jury had already met and decided.

'We will be filing an action so that we can do an open investigation into all of the details of what happened and answer some of the questions that the family has, as well as the community,' Rogers said.

Linn County Supervisor Stacey Walker, a member of the alliance, said scrutiny of the two agencies is important to the whole community.

In a guest column published Jan. 22 in The Gazette, Vander Sanden refuted a previous call from the group for a special prosecutor, saying that would be a dramatic shift in Iowa law.

'While no one opposes exploring legitimate improvements to our criminal justice system, this effort smacks of result-driven politics by a group with a social agenda.' he wrote. 'It appears this group is seeking to change the justice system because they didn't get the result they had hoped for in the Jerime Mitchell case.'

Iowa Justice Alliance demands

-- Require police departments to bring in independent investigators for officer-involved shooting cases.

-- Require the county attorney's office to bring in special prosecutors for officer-involved shooting cases referred to grand juries.

-- Implement procedural reforms, such as requiring that prosecutors obtain sworn statements from all parties involved in officer-involved shooting cases referred to grand juries.

-- Institute a policy on racial profiling that mirrors Iowa NAACP proposed legislation and bans discriminatory pretextural stops.

-- Implement a citizen-review board for the Cedar Rapids Police Department, modeled after one in Iowa City.

-- Require checks to confirm officers' audio and video recording equipment is operable before a shift and reprimand any officer who fails to use it.

-- Publish the Cedar Rapids Police Department's Use of Force Policy and Racial Profiling Policy for the public.

-- Require a certain number of hours a year of police training in implicit bias and de-escalation strategies.

-- Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden and Police Chief Wayne Jerman meet with the Mitchell family to answer questions.

-- Law enforcement professionals and Cedar Rapids officials should work with community members and the U.S. Justice Department to implement a memorandum of understanding on community policing.

-- Cedar Rapids law agencies should hire more a diverse force,

-- Require officers to live in the communities they police.