Police and Law Enforcement

The racial disparities in Iowa's state prisons continue to rank among the highest in the country. According to The Sentencing Project, the state’s Black to white prison ratio has decreased somewhat in recent years, but it’s still among the 10 worst in the nation.

Iowa's state medical examiner has confirmed that the human remains found in a farm field outside of Montezuma last month are that of 10-year-old Xavior Harrelson, who disappeared in May, just days before his 11th birthday. The cause of death has not yet been released but law enforcement officers continue to investigate the boy's death as suspicious.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, four employees alleged that they were sent unsolicited photos by the president of the Des Moines police officers’ union, including many of himself naked. The department let him retire with full benefits despite “overwhelming evidence” of his harassment, the lawsuit claims.

One of the men charged with killing two staffers at the Anamosa State Penitentiary in March pleaded guilty Friday. Inmate Thomas Woodard pleaded to two counts of first degree murder and one count each of second degree kidnapping and attempted murder.

Advocates are raising concerns about recent restrictions put in place in some of Iowa's prisons. The changes come in the wake of the killings of two staffers at the Anamosa State Penitentiary, allegedly by two inmates. Some loved ones worry the conditions behind bars may lead to further violence.

An Iowa panel voted Monday to settle a lawsuit and pay five protesters who supported the Black Lives Matter movement and alleged constitutional rights violations when they were banned from the state Capitol grounds.

Law enforcement officials across Iowa have stated their support for protecting recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Extreme heat is posing a danger to vulnerable people throughout Iowa this week, with heat indices well above 100 degrees in some areas. The temperatures are especially concerning for some of the state’s prisons, which don’t have air conditioning.

Iowa public safety officials say the 27 state troopers and one agent deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border this month worked as a “force multiplier” for Texas law enforcement, and the additional cost to Iowa taxpayers for the mission is approximately $200,000.

Prosecutors sought to poke holes in new testimony presented in court Tuesday in the case of Cristhian Bahena Rivera. His attorneys want another trial after new evidence surfaced related to the 2018 death of Mollie Tibbetts.