Investigation finds Des Moines officers 'justified' in fatal shooting
Two Des Moines police officers were justified in using deadly force when they fired at a man aiming what appeared to be a firearm at the officers after leading them on a brief pursuit on the city's southeast side in July.
Polk County attorney Kimberly Graham released a letter to Des Moines police Chief Dana Wingert on Wednesday stating that after reviewing all the body-worn camera footage and evidence, she found that the officers' use of deadly force was legally justified, and she will not be filing charges.
The shooting happened in the early morning hours of July 30 when a 911 call was made reporting that Weston Derby, 45, of Nebraska, was possibly violating a no-contact order. According to Graham's letter, Derby had repeatedly gone to an ex-girlfriend's home, threatening and harassing her. The day before the shooting, the woman obtained a temporary no-contact order and had a previous no-contact order in another state.
Des Moines police officer Jesse Schneider and officer Anthony Lampman located Derby and attempted to stop his vehicle to serve him with the no-contact order. That's when Derby sped off and tried to elude the officers, eventually driving off the road into "dense weeds and small trees" off Army Post Road, getting his vehicle stuck.
When Derby got out of the vehicle, he held what appeared to be a firearm and began running from the officer ordering him to stop. Graham's letter said Derby held the firearm to his own head for a few moments before turning the gun toward the officers. The officers then opened fire, fatally wounding the man.
During the incident, Schneider was accidentally struck in the back shoulder through a gap in his body armor by one round fired from Lampman's firearm. Schneider spent a week in the hospital before being released to recover at home.
The investigation found that the object believed to be a firearm was a pellet gun, Graham's letter said.
Graham wrote that "given all the circumstances, it was reasonable for Officers Schneider and Lampman to conclude that their lives were in imminent danger at the time the deadly force was used."