WATERLOO – A man who was shot by a Cedar Falls police officer on Christmas Day 2013 after allegedly striking the officer repeatedly about the face and head and knocking him to the ground was found guilty of a lesser assault charge and is now suing the city of Cedar Falls after the officer shot him 3 times.
Zachary Lee Church, age 29 of Parkersburg, was pulled over by Cedar Falls police officer Bob Anderson near 2nd Street and Hudson Avenue in Cedar Falls on December 25th, 2013, at about 2:57 AM. The officer observed Church sleeping in his running vehicle at the location, and smelled the aroma of marijuana from the vehicle and alcohol on Church’s person.
During the subsequent investigation, Church – who is listed as about 6 feet 2 inches tall and 270 lbs. – began to assault officer Anderson, striking him repeatedly about the face and head, and knocking him to the ground. The assault continued until officer Anderson shot Church three times with his firearm. Officer Anderson suffered cuts, abrasions and swelling to his face due to the assault. Church was hospitalized at Sartori Hospital after he was shot, and then jailed, later posting bond on January 7th. Church pled not guilty to charges of felony assault against a peace officer, felony possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and operating while intoxicated.
Church continued to tour and perform with his music band, Failure of Progress, as he awaited trial, which was postponed multiple times.
Finally, on October 13, 2015, Church was found guilty by a jury of first offense operating while intoxicated, felony possession of a controlled substance, and a lesser charge of misdemeanor assault on an officer.
Now, according to published reports, Church is suing the city of Cedar Falls.
The Waterloo-Courier reports that:
In the lawsuit, attorney Benjamin Bergmann of Des Moines said Anderson shot Church “without provocation and without justification.” He said Anderson showed no outward signs of injury following the incident. The suit said that the situation Anderson faced didn’t justify the use of his firearm and noted that Anderson was carrying non-lethal weapons that he could have used.
The suit alleges the city and Olson failed to provide “real world” training in firearms. It also claims negligence, violation of Constitutional rights and assault.
After the shooting, Anderson took a medical retirement because of post traumatic stress.
SUBJECT IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY
i know people from wloo/cf. this officer was known for showing force. my guess is he was asked to retire. also
officers know how to word their statements to help their case. as the story reads (church was pulled over). wrong. he was asleep in his vehicle. plus as i recall church was shot in the back. only cowards shoot someone in the back. and lastly. everyone here has been woken up from a deep sleep not knowing where they are. dazed, confused, tired, maybe drunk and not want to be messed with. yes maybe he was guilty of being drunk, “and a lesser charge of misdemeanor assault on an officer.” but to be shot in the back. NO.
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-shot-by-c-f-officer-gets-jail-time/article_5efeaa5d-05a0-5302-ab1a-b123e06b3912.html Looks like he was real sorry… until he found there was money to be had.
There is another falsehood – sleeping behid the wheel really is’nt operating a vehicle unless you consider the heater switch and radio knob a weapon of mass distruction. Homeless people sleeping in abandoned cars are in for jail time if they start the car to keep from freezing and happen to have a bottle of home brew on them. The cop retired early with 90 percent of his pay and all insurance paid for the rest of his life –
They don’t have to be behind the wheel. if they are in the backseat, with the key in the ignition they claim it shows intent and will arrest them. I know several people who were is a different town and came out of a bar and realized they shouldn’t drive and got in the backseat to sleep it off. Along comes the people who are supposed to help them and instead of giving them credit for being sensible they arrested them for D.U.I. Then they wonder why people do not respect the police anymore.
Who’s ass did you pull “90 percent of his pay and all insurance paid for the rest of his life” out of? Since when is it ok to pummel ANYONE let alone a peace officer? What is wrong with people today?
Don’t they call that self defense? Let’s all get together and protest. My God, the cop shot him. Oops, wrong race.
What a loser. If you do wrong and run or fight with the police there will always be a chance you will be shot too bad. Now be man enough to live with the outcome. The police are not out there shooting honest citizens.
I second that emotion.