ALTOONA, IOWA – A man was shot dead by police near Iowa’s Adventurland Park back in September, and police released a video of the incident.
On September 7, 2020 at approximately 8:33 AM, Altoona police officers were dispatched to 3225 Adventureland Drive, Motel 6, for a suspicious person with a weapon. Officers arrived on-scene and located a male subject on the east side of Motel 6 with a gun observed in his hand. Officers from the Altoona Police Department, as well as Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, began to negotiate with the subject to put the gun down and de-escalate the situation. Negotiations continued to have the subject put the weapon down, with failed attempts. At approximately 9:08 AM, officers reported “shots fired.” The subject was shot and pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured during the incident. The names of Officers involved and the deceased middle aged white male are not being released at this time.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation was called to the scene to conduct an investigation into the circumstances, which led to the officer involved shooting.
The Altoona Police Department released a video of the officer involved shooting; the video is graphic in nature.
On November 10th, 2020, the Grand Jury convened and heard the testimonies of witnesses, experts, and Officers Involved in this critical incident. The Grand Jury deliberated and unanimously concluded that there will be no Indictments for Officers, and this was a justified shooting.
Altoona Detective David Lowe and Polk County Deputy Jason Tart have returned to their assigned duties.