Iowa Attorney General Concludes Cedar Rapids Officers Acted With Legal Justification in September Fatal Shooting
The Iowa Attorney General's Office issued a report on November 10 concluding that the September 22, 2026 fatal shooting of Travis Kirk McDermott by Cedar Rapids officers Ethan Lightner and Wes Wery was legally justified. Cedar Rapids is in Linn County, Iowa.
The conclusion was based on a review and investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. At about 3:05 p.m. on September 22, Cedar Rapids police were dispatched to a call of a man brandishing a gun at people near Daniels Park. Officers Lightner, Wery, Kenneth Allaire and Janae Obbink arrived within seconds of each other at a business across from the park and saw McDermott standing next to the business with an extended-barrel handgun raised in his right hand over his head, arguing with a woman on a second-story balcony. Officers repeatedly directed him to get on the ground; he refused, screamed vulgarities and said he was going to shoot them. He then turned toward the officers and, after further commands to drop the gun, began lowering it from over his head toward his waist, pointing it at the officers. Officers Lightner and Wery fired, and McDermott died at the scene despite lifesaving measures.
The weapon recovered was a Gamo PR-776 high-power CO2 revolver with a 6-inch barrel, which both civilian and law-enforcement witnesses believed to be a lethal firearm. The report also noted McDermott's history of alcohol and drug offenses, harassment and assaults, including threats made to an arresting officer in February 2026.
The report was issued under the Attorney General's independent authority under Iowa Code section 13.2 to investigate or prosecute law-enforcement conduct that results in death.
(Source: Iowa Attorney General's Office)
Source: Iowa Attorney General's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于爱荷华州 Cedar Rapids 的美国联邦法院大楼。照片经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The United States Courthouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Via Wikimedia Commons.
