Iowa Law Enforcement Academy assistant director fired

The embattled assistant director of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy has been fired weeks shy of his scheduled retirement.

Mike Quinn, 71, announced in April he would retire June 30 to spend more time with his family.

But ILEA Director Arlen Ciechanowski fired Quinn Tuesday, Ciechanowski said. He said he couldn't say why Quinn was fired because it's a personnel matter.

Quinn was barred from teaching Violence Against Women classes after a female student complained that Quinn had asked her and two other women in June 2012 whether penis size mattered.

Nancy Brady, then a trainer with the academy, reported the allegations to the state's Crime Victims Assistance Division, which has authority over the grant-funded training. She also reported Quinn's comment to her that he would 'slit her throat” if she spent too much time talking with another employee.

Quinn was admonished after the 2012 incident, but kept his $91,000-a-year job.

Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, lambasted Gov. Terry Branstad's administration in recent months over Quinn being allowed to continue his state employment through the end of the fiscal year.

Officers from most Iowa police departments and sheriff's offices are trained at the ILEA. The academy offers classes that include accident investigation, child abduction response, firearms, high-speed pursuit, internal affairs, court security and 911 communications.