DES MOINES, IA – One of the Black Lives
Matter organizers based out of Des Moines is now facing
nine felony charges after police say he was shining lasers
directly into officers’ eyes on the evening of August 31st while
protests were raging nearby the University of Iowa.
Matthew Bruce – Des
Moines Police Department
Police arrested 24-year-old Matthew Bruce at approximately 11:40
p.m. on August 31st in relation to
two separate incidents involving assaulting officers that took
place that evening. At approximately 8:28 p.m. at the University of
Iowa President’s residence, police say that Bruce was engaging in
said use of the laser to attack officers.
Then at 11:36 p.m. at the University of Iowa Pentacrest,
officers caught the suspect engaging in said act again. The
criminal complaint states that at some point during the protest,
police asked Bruce to cease said criminal acts. Officers stated
that when they approached Bruce initially, he had ran away.
Now Bruce is faces nine charges of assault on a peace officer
with intent of injury and one charge of interference with official
acts.
However, this isn’t Bruce’s first arrest related to
protest/riotous related activities in recent months.
On June 20th, police say that Bruce had
engaged in criminal mischief and that Bruce had turned himself
into police days later after the June protest. Sergeant Paul
Parizek with the Des Moines Police Department stated that Bruce was
partially responsible for vandalism against a police vehicle:
“His charges are related to the protest at Hy-Vee last
Saturday. There has been a lot of emphasis placed on the police
car, and as we examined these cases, we looked at the other
arrests. The real victim is the taxpayers.”
Then on August 20th, Bruce was
arrested again under charges of interference with official
acts. That arrest was linked to Bruce allegedly spotting an
unmarked police vehicle that a detective was driving and ordered
protesters to intentionally block the detective’s route.
Police say that 33-year-old Kristin Wolf Peters heeded said
order by Bruce and used a vehicle to block the detective’s unit
twice that evening.
According to Iowa
state law, Bruce could face up to five years in prison for a
single count of assault on a peace officer with intent of
injury.
In other protest related crimes in Iowa, prosecutors have
decided to file a rarely used leak charge against protesters from
the Black Livers Matter group.
Two protesters who were accused of stealing a confidential
police document and displaying it during a television news
broadcast have been charged with unauthorized dissemination of
intelligence data, a felony that can carry a potential sentence of
five years in prison.
Two Iowa Black Lives Matter
activists face 5 yrs. prison Alexandria Dea, 26, took the
intelligence bulletin from an officer’s back pocket during a
confrontation between officers and protesters inside the Capitol,
the criminal complaint against her alleges https://t.co/jJVRahMc5O— Ted D. Bexar (@TedDBexar)
July 8, 2020
According to the Iowa Judicial Branch, it’s only the second
time that the charge has been filed since 2010. The law’s
intended purpose is to punish officers and others who share
information that could undermine criminal investigations or violate
privacy protections, much like HIPAA does in healthcare.
The document at the center of this investigation was a Des
Moines Police Department bulletin that was given to officers and
state troopers while they worked a July 1
protest at the Iowa Capitol. The document contained photos and
information of suspects who were wanted in the destruction of a Des
Moines police car during a June 20 protest.
More than a dozen arrested
following protest at Iowa State Capitol https://t.co/IESG7miezu— WQAD (@wqad)
July 2, 2020
The criminal complaint against Alexandria Dea, 26, alleges that
Dea stole the intelligence document out of an officer’s back
pocket during a confrontation between officers and protesters,
which started after police arrested three suspects inside the
Capitol.
Protesters then gathered at the Polk County Jail to demand the
release of those arrested during the clash. While there,
21-year-old Viet Tran discussed and displayed the bulletin during
an interview that was broadcast on WOI-TV, an
ABC affiliate, according to a complaint.
Contained within the first page of the four-page document was a
notice warning that the bulletin shouldn’t be shared or released
publicly, and that doing so would be a violation of Iowa law.
Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek said it was
difficult to assess whether any harm resulted from its
dissemination. He did, however, say that intelligence bulletins
contain confidential information such as driver’s license numbers
that must be protected under the law.
Parizek went on to say:
“This is my first experience with it ever being
applied to anyone outside law enforcement, but obviously the
circumstances were pretty unique. Those documents are not supposed
to be shared. It’s actually written on them. As soon as they did
that, the charge was appropriate.â€
Parizen said authorities were able to identify Tran as the
source despite the television story not showing the name or face of
the person speaking about the document.
The reporter who included the bulletin in her story and tweeted
photos of the document has not been charged.
To this, Parizen said:
“It wouldn’t be appropriate to hold a reporter
accountable for trying to do their job. They get more leeway than
the average person would.â€
Polk County Attorney John Sarcone, whose office is responsible
for filing the charges, didn’t return a phone message.
In addition to the unauthorized dissemination of classified
information, Dea was also charged with felony theft for allegedly
stealing the bulletin and throwing an officer’s radio that had
fallen to the ground. If convicted, Dea can face up to ten years in
prison on that charge alone.
Dea declined comment after posting bond in the amount of
$15,000.
Police arrest protesters at
Iowa Capitol after confrontation: https://t.co/URB7YwpPXb pic.twitter.com/3R5fZjVsfh— KWWL (@KWWL)
July 2, 2020
However, her friend and fellow protester Jaylen Cavil wasn’t
so quiet, and essentially accused the police of making up the
incident.
Cavil said:
“They are attempting to scare and silence us by
stacking these fabricated felony charges on young people. They know
that this can ruin people’s lives, and that’s why they’re
doing it.â€
According to state law, intelligence data is defined as
information “compiled in an effort to anticipate, prevent, or
monitor possible criminal activity.†Anyone who improperly
obtains or shares is subject to charges.
A Wayne County sheriff’s office employee was the subject of
the last time in which the law was used. The employee was charged
in 2016 with leaking information to suspects in drug and drunk
driving cases. Ultimately, prosecutors dropped two counts and she
plead guilty to interference with official acts.
Potentially looking to set a precedent during the nationwide
protests and riots, Iowa’s charge against Dea and Tran should
cause protesters to think twice before attempting to steal law
enforcement documents or equipment.
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Black Lives Matter leader in Des Moines arrested for 9 felony
counts of assaulting officers appeared first on Law Enforcement
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