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Bremer County attorney clears officers in fatal shooting

Incident began with sighting at Floyd truck stop

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Area law officers were justified in their actions shooting and killing a man who had first been seen with a gun by a customer at Love’s Travel Stop in Floyd, the Bremer County attorney has determined.

The man, identified as Jihad Merrick, was killed south of exit 212 on the Avenue of the Saints near Plainfield on Jan. 17, after about a half-hour standoff with seven law enforcement officers from four departments.

The report said Merrick tried to accelerate his car while officers were trying to get him out of his vehicle, and one officer fired eight rounds from a handgun and another officer fired one round from a rifle. Merrick was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bremer County Attorney Kasey Wadding concluded, “The use of deadly force by the officers was justified in accordance with Iowa law. There were numerous instances where Mr. Merrick’s volatile behavior put the officers and the public in general at serious risk of death.

“The officers had a reasonable belief that the use of deadly force was necessary to avoid injury or risk to their lives,” Wadding wrote. “As a result of my review, I will not be filing criminal charges regarding this incident.”

  • Squad car video from Trooper Nathaniel Miller’s vehicle. WARNING: Explicit language near the end.

According to the report, the event started at about 8:30 p.m. at Love’s Travel Stop. A woman in the store saw a man, later identified as Merrick, outside his car holding a handgun to his head with one hand and holding a cellphone in the other hand.

The woman went back to her car and told her father what she had seen, and they called 911. They then parked their vehicle across Highway 218 from Love’s on the shoulder of the highway and continued to observe Merrick, the report said.

Merrick left Love’s and traveled down Highway 218 in the same direction the man and his daughter were facing. He stopped briefly where they could see him and they saw him hold a handgun to his head, then he proceeded east on the Avenue of the Saints (Highway 18/27) toward Charles City at a high rate of speed.

Nashua Police Officer Ben Scholl, who was not aware of the report from the Love’s sighting, was running radar on Highway 18/27 at the Nashua exit, and clocked a vehicle traveling south at 104 mph in a 65 mph zone.

Scholl turned on his emergency lights and pursued the vehicle, which stopped south of exit 212 on the shoulder of the highway near Plainfield in Bremer County.

Scholl turned his vehicle’s spotlight on the stopped car, a 2016 black Ford Fusion registered to Jihad Mustafa Merrick, and saw a man holding a handgun to his head.

Scholl called in to dispatch, and three Iowa State Patrol troopers, a Bremer County deputy, a Chickasaw County deputy and the Nashua police chief responded to the scene.

“Prior to their arrival Mr. Merrick got out of the driver’s side of his vehicle with a handgun pointed to his own head and he faced Officer Scholl,” the report said. “Officer Scholl told Mr. Merrick to calm down and drop his handgun and drew his own handgun.

“Mr. Merrick got back in his vehicle within moments, failing to comply with the command. Officer Scholl also told Mr. Merrick to put the handgun down so they could talk. Officer Scholl recalled Mr. Merrick’s reply as: ‘I can’t do that right now.”

The other officers arrived and parked their cars in various locations, turning their lights on Merrick’s car.

Trooper Ken Haut, a senior officer, acted as the chief negotiator with Merrick as they awaited the arrival of a negotiator from Cresco, but the shooting occurred before the negotiator arrived.

According to the report, Merrick did not comply with orders to put the handgun down, but complained about the lights from all the law enforcement vehicles.

The report said Merrick appeared to be talking on his cellphone and one officer thought he heard the word “mom.” During more than 28 minutes of negotiations, officers thought they heard Merrick say “five” when he was asked how many weapons he had.

Merrick stepped out of his vehicle twice more with a handgun to his head, the report said.

Merrick returned again to his vehicle, and at about 9:21 p.m. officers heard a shot fired. They approached the vehicle and saw Merrick alive with his hands empty.

Trooper Haut and officer Scholl approached the driver-side window and Haut told Scholl to holster his weapon.

Haut tried to open the door, but it was locked, so he broke the driver-side window with a tool. Merrick turned away from the breaking glass and Haut saw a gun on the passenger seat and called to officers to get the gun, the report said.

Trooper Nathaniel Miller was able to grab the gun through the passenger-side window, which was broken before officers arrived on the scene.

As officers tried to grab Merrick and remove him from the vehicle, Merrick put the car in gear and accelerated the vehicle, the report said.

Bremer County Deputy Glenn Beenblossom had entered the rear passenger-side door to help get control of Merrick and was not completely in the car when Merrick accelerated.

“Deputy Beenblossom’s leg and foot were caught by the car which caused a great deal of pain,” the report said.

“Simultaneously, Trooper Haut, in fear of being run over, at the drivers’ window shouted to shoot Mr. Merrick. Deputy Beenblossom removed his handgun from his holster and shot eight rounds until the threat was over,” the report said.

Chickasaw County Deputy Adam Hanson fired one round from his rifle, the report said.

On a vehicle cam video of the incident released with the report, Beenblosson can be heard saying, “He (expletive) took off, my foot was under the tire.”

Merrick was removed from the vehicle and no signs of life were found. An ambulance was called and Merrick was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy by the State Medical Examiner’s Office recovered three 40 caliber bullets, the caliber fired by Beenblossom’s gun, and determined the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.

The autopsy also noted “methamphetamine intoxication,” the report said.

County Attorney Wadding wrote, “No evidence indicated that any officers displayed any criminal intent toward Mr. Merrick. To the contrary, the officers displayed patience, compassion, and concern for Mr. Merrick as well as the community. The firing of Mr. Merrick’s weapon escalated the situation to resolution ending in his final act of putting the officers in jeopardy and potentially the public at large.

“Accordingly, as a result of my review I will not be filing criminal charges regarding this incident. I will not be requesting review by a grand jury as I believe it would serve no worthwhile purpose,” Wadding wrote.

Other officers involved at the scene in addition to those already mentioned were Trooper Chris Forsyth and Nashua Police Chief Travis Marvin. Floyd County deputies helped with traffic control at the incident.

 

 

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