Handout_Statewide Crime HeadlinesSTATEWIDE CRIME HEADLINES
ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT YEARS IN CEDAR RAPIDS HISTORY -- Cedar Rapids Gazette — Dec. 28, 2014
• Eight homicides in six incidents, CR had not had more than three homicides since 2006
• 93 shootings, previous record was 64 in 2012
• 9 shooting arrests
More gunshots reported in Cedar Rapids -- Cedar Rapids Gazette — Nov. 25, 2015
A Tuesday night report of gunshots, and the discovery of shell casings at the scene, brought to 91 the number of
gun violence incidents so far this year in the city.
The majority of gunfire incidents this year in the city have not claimed victims.
According to statistics provided by public safety spokesmen Greg Buelow:
• Persons shot: 27
• Structures shot: 30
• Cars shot: 12
• Shell casings located: 22
Cedar Rapids exploring partnerships to address gun violence -- Cedar Rapids Gazette — May 5, 2016
During a meeting of the Safe, Equitable and Thriving (SET) Communities Task Force on Thursday, Police Chief
Wayne Jerman said he has exchanged emails this week with Dr. Corinne Peek -Asa, the Associate Dean for Research
in the UI's College of Public Health.
Jerman's comments came in response to a community organization, 1 Strong, asking the Cedar Rapids City Council to
consider asking the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate violence in the city as an epidemic.
... Cedar Rapids had only 29 incidents where someone was actually shot in 2015. Cedar Rapids' population is
approximately 130,000.
Shots fired, violent crime in Cedar Rapids up in first half of 2016 -- Cedar Rapids Gazette — July 16, 2016
Indeed, gun violence remains a prominent issue in Cedar Rapids. According to crirne statistics from the Cedar Rapids
Police Department, there were more shots fired incidents during the first half of 2016 than the first six months of any
previous year.
Overall, the number of violent crimes in Cedar Rapids is up 6.5 percent, with 180 incidents reported in the first six
months of this year, compared with 169 incidents during the same time last year.
According to police data, there have been 50 shots fired incidents during the first six months of 2016. The first half of
2015 saw 41 shots fired calls and there were 46 such incidents through June of 2014. That leaves Cedar Rapids on
pace to hit 100 shots fired incidents for the second year in a row.
There have been three homicides in the first half of 2016, one more than in the first six months of 2015. Statistics also
show a 9.6 percent increase in burglary reports for the first half of the year, going from 396 to 434.
2014 WAS A DEADLY YEAR FOR WATERLOO -- Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier— March 22, 2015
Crime numbers released by the Waterloo Police Department show 2014 had the highest number of slayings in 20
years with six people the victim of homicide.
1
Looking back, Waterloo usually logs two or three homicides a year. In 2012, there were five, with four in 2013. 1993
holds the recent record with nine homicides, five of which remain unsolved.
Homicides weren't the only crimes that showed increases last year. The total number of reported index crimes --
murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and auto theft -- rose from 2,456 in 2013 to 2,729 in
2014, according to the police department's statistics.
Police respond to several gunshots going off -- Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier — April 24, 2016
Shotgun pellets pierced the front of a Waterloo home early Friday. It was one of about three shots fired calls police
responded to Friday and Saturday.
1 wounded during shooting sprees in Waterloo -- Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier— May 12, 2016
Andrew Spates, 40, of Waterloo, was shot multiple times with a shotgun as he sat in a car at Kwik Star.
Four other people were apprehended later by Waterloo police in a related shooting. At about 8 a.m., police were called
to a report of shots fired in the area of 1210 Columbia St. When police arrived, they found a house and vehicle had
been struck by multiple bullets, but no one was injured.
Two injured in Monday shooting -- Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier — May 24, 2016
The identities and conditions of the victims weren't immediately available, but police said one is a man and the other is
a woman and both were shot in the legs.
Guns seized after bullets hit homes on July 4 -- Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier -- July 6, 2016
Police have seized a number of firearms in connection with the investigation into Independence Day gunfire that
damaged two homes.
Details of the seizure weren't available, but authorities said several guns were seized during the search of a home
stemming from the shooting. No arrests have been made in the investigation.
1 man killed, 2, injured in Waterloo shooting, police say -- Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier— July 18, 2016
Authorities say a 21 -year-old man has died and two people have been wounded in a Waterloo shooting.
SHOOTING `EVERY DAY' REQUIRES COMMUNITY RESPONSE -- Quad City Times — Sept. 19, 2015
• 125 shootings so far, more than 2014's total
• 29 shooting arrests so far
Davenport police investigate two shots fired calls Thursday -- Quad City Times — Nov. 19, 2015
With the two incidents Thursday the number of shooting incidents in Davenport now stands at 152.
One wounded in Davenport shooting -- Quad City Times — Jan. 31, 2016
Friday's incident marks the 18th confirmed shots -fired call Davenport police have investigated in January.
Including the woman in Friday's incident, six people have been wounded so far this year.
Davenport targets gun violence; wants jail bond laws changed -- Quad City Times — March 17, 2016
2
After a spate of 168 shooting incidents in 2015, up from the previous year, the number has ramped up again this year,
including 19 shootings and shots -fired calls in January alone.
RESIDENTS REACT TO SHOOTINGS: 'We don't feel safe anymore' -- Quad City Times — March 19, 2016.
Davenport police continue their investigation into the apparently separate shooting incidents, two more in a wave of
violent crime that had the City Council pleading this week in a letter to the Iowa Judicial Branch for changes in how
defendants are locked up.
SIOUX CITY POLICE CONFIRM THIRD DRIVE-BY SHOOTING -- Sioux City Journal — July 9, 2015
A house in the 1500 block of Collins Street was hit by gunfire about 3:30 a.m. Thursday in what police said is the third
drive-by shooting on the Westside within the past three weeks.
Sioux City officer shot during Sunday morning investigation -- Sioux City Journal — Feb. 8, 2016
An armed suspect linked to a string of robberies and burglaries shot a Sioux City police officer early Sunday morning
before shooting himself. Sunday was the first shooting in Sioux City in 2016.
Three drive-by shootings reported Tuesday -- Des Moines Register— Dec. 2, 2015
Des Moines police responded to three reports of gunshots that hit houses and cars on the city's east side.
. it's more evidence of an apparent uptick in gun violence since the city's suffered five deaths during three separate
shootings in the past 10 days.
21 Des Moines homicides most since 1990 -- Des Moines Register— Jan. 5, 2016
If 2015 seemed like a particularly violent and deadly year for Des Moines, it's because it was.
During the year, 21 people were slain within the Des Moines city limits — the most since 1990, which saw 23
homicides, Des Moines Police St. Paul Parizek said. The highest number the department has on record was 1978,
when Des Moines had 27 homicides.
Man dies in east Des Moines shooting, 6th homicide this year -- Des Moines Register— July 21, 2016
A man died of multiple gunshot wounds Thursday evening on Des Moines' east side, police said.
Des Moines hit by 31 drive-bys in 6 months -- Des Moines Register— July 27, 2016
Through the end of June, 31 drive-by shootings were reported in the city. That's the most drive-bys through the first six
months of any year since 2011.
There isn't one cause, Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said. During the 1990s, drive-bys almost always involved
gangs, but that has changed, he said. Some are still gang -related. Some involve drugs. Others stem from personal
conflicts.
3
Dubuque police investigate 2 more shots -fired reports Wednesday --Telegraph Herald — Dec. 3, 2015
Dubuque police received two reports of shots fired Wednesday night, though only one has been confirmed.
Baxter said the Lincoln Avenue shooting marks the 33rd confirmed shots -fired incident this year in Dubuque.
Police reported 25 such incidents in both 2013 and 2014. The totals from 2009 to 2012 ranged from five to eight per
year.
Dubuque police investigating shots fired Thursday night -- Telegraph Herald — May 21, 2016
A police report stated six shell casings were recovered from the area, as well as a sweatshirt, a hat and a water bottle.
Lt. Scott Baxter said this is the seventh confirmed report of gunfire in Dubuque in 2016. Last year, the city had 33
confirmed reports.
Dubuque police investigate shot fired inside home -- Telegraph Herald — June 1, 2016
Dubuque police are investigating a report of a gunshot inside a residence early Sunday morning. No injuries were
reported.
A Dubuque police report said the report of gunfire came in at 3:28 a.m. Sunday for 675 W. 11th St. Lt. Scott Baxter
said a shell casing was recovered from the scene and there was bullet damage to a door and closet in the home.
Police believe there was a social gathering at the residence before the shot was fired, he said.
Dubuque police, school and nonprofit officials meet to discuss violence prevention -- Telegraph Herald — June
22, 2016
More than 30 local law enforcement officials, school personnel and nonprofit providers met in Dubuque on Tuesday to
discuss efforts to curb recent increases in gun violence.
Police: Shots fired in downtown Dubuque -- Telegraph Herald — June 25, 2016
Police said a report of shots being fired Thursday night in the 1400 block of Bluff Street represents the 10th confirmed
instance of gunfire in Dubuque in 2016.
Police responded to a report of gunfire at about 11 p.m. Thursday near 1491 Bluff St. Shell casings, a knife and a
small amount of marijuana were found at the scene, according to a police report.
Baxter also confirmed an instance of gunfire on Friday, June 17, which was the ninth such instance in 2016. A person
was shot and injured in that case.
Dubuque gang leader, 11 others face charges -- Telegraph Herald — June 30, 2016
A suspected gang leader faces multiple charges for allegedly driving by a Dubuque home multiple times and
threatening violence, just hours before people standing outside the residence were shot at.
Police said those incidents are linked to a disturbance the day before that resulted in criminal charges for 10 other
people.
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen
City Manager
FR: Mark M. Da!sing
Chief of Police
MEMORANDUM
August 1, 2016
RE: Shots Fired
INTRODUCTION
This memo will briefly review the shots fired incidents in 2015 as well as those year to
date for 2016.
BACKGROUND
With the uptick in shots fired calls the past few years, the department began to more
closely track shots fired incidents. This tracking is not done via official computerized
records of police calls for service, as we have determined this to be fairly inaccurate.
Calls that come in as possible gunshots are sometimes determined to be some other
noise (fireworks, vehicles, transformers, etc.) while other incidents come in and are
logged as disturbances or other call types, and the fact that shots were fired isn't
determined until officers arrive and investigate. Instead the department is manually
tracking these calls. We are also more closely reviewing the calls to "confirm" the shots
through physical or witness evidence. We have had to do this confirmation in part to
eliminate unfounded complaints, which appear to have risen due in part to overall
citizen awareness and the tendency to call in any suspicious noise. We also believe that
occasionally some of the shots fired calls are fabricated. As an example of this, we have
had anonymous, single calls of shots fired in an area, and multiple witnesses, including
officers in some cases, were already present in the described area and did not hear the
alleged shots. Why someone would do this is open for debate, but we are fairly
confident that there are a number of false reports each year.
In 2015 we had 33 confirmed shots fired calls, and 25 in each of 2014 and 2013. In the
years prior to that the numbers were in the single digits, but the calls didn't get the same
review as they currently do, so those numbers could be higher. To date in 2016 we are
at 12 shots fired call. While so far in 2016 we have had 8 fewer incidents than this date
in 2015, we do not take that for granted. During the summer months we are always
more prepared for increases in shots fired calls as calls for service in general tend to go
up. However there really is no rhyme or reason to when these incidents occur. While
July 2015 was a high month with six shots fired calls, it was matched a few months later
with the same number in October.
With the below listed cases there are multiple resolutions listed. Open indicates the
case has not been closed through arrest, even though it may be inactive or suspended
by police pending new information. In many of these cases, probable suspects are
known to police but there is insufficient evidence to arrest. In many of these cases a
lack of victim and/or witness cooperation is the primary reason why there is insufficient
evidence. Arrest or Multiple Arrests indicate that at least one person was arrested,
although not always for a charge related to actually firing a weapon.
As an example, the 03/06/15 incident at 16th & Iowa was two intoxicated individuals
recklessly firing a lawfully owned handgun in the air. There was insufficient evidence as
to which person fired the gun but they were arrested on other applicable charges and
the weapon and the gun owner's weapon permit were taken from him. Examples of
arrests include Disorderly Conduct, Interference with Official Acts, alcohol or drug
related offenses, several cases where there was a prohibited person possessing a
weapon (felon, drug user), arrests for actually discharging the weapons, and felony
charges ranging from assault to murder. There are also several open cases where
prosecution is forthcoming.
There have been other weapons cases that do not make this list such as accidental
discharge of a firearm, or suicide with a firearm. The lone exception to suicide with a
firearm which is on this list is the 05/01/15 case where a crime (murder) with a gun was
committed before the suicide. There have also been several weapon charges under
both State and City Codes for Carrying Weapons that were unrelated to any shootings.
City charges would also include carrying BB guns or Airsoft type guns, which are not
regulated at the State level.
2015
Date
Location
Results
1
02/08/15
22nd/Central
Open
2
03/06/15
1600 Central — AIIey East
Multiple Arrests
3
03/10/15
16th/Iowa
Open
4
03/20/15
W. Locust/Kirkwood
Open
5
04/01/16
Jackson Park
Multiple Arrests
6
04/05/15
700 blk. Caledonia
Open
7
04/11/15
663 Jefferson
Multiple Arrests
8
04/18/16
11th & Chestnut
Multiple Arrests
9
05/01/15
2425 Roosevelt — Murder
Offender Suicide
10
06/03/15
1690 White - Alley
Open
11
06/09/15
2200 blk. White
Open
12
06/09/15
2155 Clarke Dr. — Murder
Arrest
13
06/10/15
25th & Jackson
Open
14
06/27/15
15th & Central
Open
15
07/01/15
15th & Iowa
Open
16
07/04/15
21st & Washington
Closed (suspect deceased)
17
07/15/15
600 blk. W. Locust
Arrest
18
07/26/15
15th & Locust
Open
19
07/28/15
1812 Central
Suspect imprisoned out of state for murder
20
07/28/15
1900 blk. Jackson
Open
21
08/17/15
American Marine
Arrest
22
08/30/15
1500 blk. Iowa — Alley East
Open
23
09/22/15
1600 blk. White — Alley East
Multiple Arrests
24
09/26/15
17th & White
Open
25
10/04/15
705 1/2 Rhomberg — Murder
Open
26
10/06/15
W. Locust & Rosedale
Open
27
10/09/15
18th & Jackson
Open
28
10/21/15
19th & Jackson
Multiple Arrests
29
10/27/15
300 blk. W 17th
Open
30
10/28/15
444 Angella
Open
31
11/18/15
1600 Butterfield
Open
32
12/01/15
Spruce & Jefferson
Multiple Arrests
33
12/02/15
1600 blk. Lincoln
Open
2016
CONCLUSION
These shots fired cases are very unique crimes for us to investigate. In a matter of
seconds an individual can fire multiple rounds and disappear from the scene and we
then get multiple 911 calls. The crimes are complicated by the fact that unlike most
other crimes, if we actually find a victim, they are often unwilling to cooperate with
police. Unfortunately these victims often then become the suspects in retaliatory acts.
Date
Location
Results
1
03/08/16
1400 blk. Locust/Bluff
Open
2
03/16/16
16th & Bluff
Open
3
03/20/16
300 bik. Jefferson
Open
4
03/26/16
1500 bik. Iowa — Alley East
Open
5
03/28/16
19th & Jackson
Multiple Arrests
6
05/17/16
Walnut & Jefferson
Open
7
05/19/16
2400 bik. Jackson
Open
8
05/28/16
675 W 11th
Open
9
06/17/16
17th & West Locust
Open
10
06/23/16
1491 Bluff
Arrest
11
06/27/16
15th & White
Open
12
07/24/16
19th & Jackson
Open
CONCLUSION
These shots fired cases are very unique crimes for us to investigate. In a matter of
seconds an individual can fire multiple rounds and disappear from the scene and we
then get multiple 911 calls. The crimes are complicated by the fact that unlike most
other crimes, if we actually find a victim, they are often unwilling to cooperate with
police. Unfortunately these victims often then become the suspects in retaliatory acts.
Despite these challenges, the Dubuque Police Department has been fairly successful in
resolving several cases. The County Attorney's Office and US Attorney's Office have
been very open to reviewing all gun case. Unfortunately many of these take time,
especially the federal cases where the evidence goes through the Grand Jury process
which can take months. The investigations are very fluid and ongoing and can change
daily. We also have several open investigations and pending federal indictments for
other criminal activity that we know will take some of the shots fired suspects out of
action once they are arrested on these non -gun crimes. Whatever the final outcome, the
Dubuque Police Department will diligently pursue these investigations.
ACTION REQUESTED
This is an informational memo only and no further action is requested.