ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) - A grand jury has found that a deadly police shooting outside a motel in a Des Moines suburb was justified.
Altoona police announced late Friday that jurors reached the decision not to indict an officer or a Polk County sheriff’s deputy in the September shooting of 51-year-old Jeffrey Meyer more than two weeks ago, the Des Moines Register reports.
Altoona Lt. Alyssa Wilson, a police spokesperson, said the delay in making the announcement was the result of more than one police agency being involved and the need to assemble and get approval for the release of a dashcam video. The video included the department’s own narration of what happened, with sections sped up or obscured.
The narration on the video says an Altoona officer encountered Meyer holding a pistol while responding to a suspicious person report at the Motel 6. Meyer then refused repeated demands to drop the gun and called on police to shoot him before officers decided to use nonlethal beanbag rounds in an attempt to incapacitate him, according to the video and narration.
Once struck, Meyer aimed his gun at police and fired. The narration says the officers then returned fire, fatally wounding Meyer.
Both officers involved in the shooting have returned to duty.
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