More Cedar Rapids arrests dropped before court action

The number of people arrested by Cedar Rapids police but never charged is on the rise, and although that can be frustrating for officers, Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said it's his duty to look closely at every case and file charges only when they're supported by the evidence and can be proven at trial.

From Jan. 1 to May 31, Vander Sanden refused to prosecute 105 Cedar Rapids arrests, according to police statistics. That's 133 percent higher than the 45 Cedar Rapids arrests not charged during the same period last year, when Vander Sanden's predecessor was at the helm.

Vander Sanden's office also keeps numbers on arrests that don't result in prosecutions, including both cases he declines to prosecute and those he asks police to investigate further. According to those numbers, Vander Sanden's office turned away 174 Cedar Rapids police cases through May 31 this year, up 67 percent from the 104 cases the office either rejected or requested for follow-up during the same period last year.

Vander Sanden said the difference in the numbers might be his office's inclusion of cases sent back for more investigation. And, he said, the increase might be partly linked to a rise in population that coincided with a 7.58 percent increase in overall arrests this year over last year through May 31, he said.

But, Vander Sanden said, it also shows that police efforts don't always meet his office's standards for what it takes to land a conviction.

“Part of the problem is that peace officers only need probable cause to make an arrest,” Vander Sanden said. “We as prosecutors need proof beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a conviction.”

Cedar Rapids police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said officers want the county to prosecute all their cases. They don't make arrests if they don't think charges could result in a conviction, she said.

“It can be frustrating,” she said.

Different view

Vander Sanden, appointed to succeed Harold Denton last July and elected to keep his job in November, said he's sympathetic to challenges police face when they investigate a case and find reason to suspect someone broke the law.

“But sometimes,” he said, “we have to make a judgment call on whether there is sufficient evidence.”

Vander Sanden said he takes a different view than his predecessors when it comes to reviewing cases and filing charges.

“I do believe that, perhaps, I scrutinize them more closely,” he said. “I might be more inclined to send one back for more investigation.”

Economics weigh into Vander Sanden's charging decisions, he said, as even the smallest of cases could come at a “terrible cost to the system.”

Vander Sanden said his solution is to keep trivial issues out of court from the start.

“We find we achieve better results when we review cases on the front end rather than deal with them after the fact,” he said.

In Johnson County

Not all attorney offices have a similar review process. Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness, for example, said she doesn't do a formal review before suspects are charged.

Attorneys in her office decide later in the process how to proceed, including whether to amend or drop a charge.

There are several reasons Vander Sanden said he might decline to file charges. In some cases, he said, the evidence is just not there. In others, the evidence is conflicting.

Take a bar fight involving multiple injured participants with varying reports of what happened. Attorneys have to wade through the web of stories to try the case, Vander Sanden said.

“If police have a hard time sorting it out in the field, we are going to have an impossible job trying to sort things out in court,” he said.

Cases involving “he said-she said” testimony with no independent witnesses also might get dropped.

A shooting May 19 at a Cedar Rapids home on 11th Street NE is one example. Howard L. Cooks Jr, 32, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after Anita Shade, 37, told police she was robbed and assaulted.

Shade said Cooks punched and pistol-whipped her before threatening to kill her and firing a gun. But Cooks, who was stabbed in the torso, told officers Shade stole from him and then pulled a knife.

Vander Sanden declined to file charges against Cooks, explaining that he and Shade gave “wildly conflicting accounts” and calling it “impossible” to prove what really happened.

Too trivial to try

Vander Sanden said he also might pass on a case he believes is too minor to warrant legal attention. An example would be the soda caper that landed on his desk last summer.

A manager at a Kwik Shop in Cedar Rapids called police July 21 to report an employee had refilled her cup at the soda machine without recording it in a log, according to police.

An officer viewed the surveillance tape and confirmed the employee had taken at least one soda without telling anyone. The officer arrested the employee on suspicion of fifth degree theft.

“I didn't think this was a matter to involve the criminal court,” Vander Sanden said. “The justice system can only involve so much.”

Minor infractions like the soda case have become increasingly common, Vander Sanden said, with more people calling police when they might have settled it themselves in the past.

“For every charge you file, you have less time to spend on other cases,” Vander Sanden said.

‘It's frustrating'

A Cedar Rapids investigator meets regularly with the Attorney's Office to maintain a unified effort toward the goal of keeping the community safe, Hamblin said.

But, she said, officers occasionally find themselves calling the county attorney to ask whether he's going to file charges. She said domestic abuse cases often are among those dropped.

“It's frustrating for the officers,” Hamblin said. “The law says you shall arrest when you have probable cause.”

Often in those cases, she said, a victim will call police but then change his or her mind about pursuing charges and refuse to cooperate with investigators.

“We would like the county attorney to move forward on those cases and prosecute, even without the victim's cooperation,” Hamblin said.