William Petroski
The Des Moines Register
March 28, 2014
The Des Moines Register filed two lawsuits against state officials today in Polk County District Court in efforts to obtain public records regarding an investigation of the former Iowa Juvenile Home at Toledo and the Taser-related death of a man in the custody of Worth County sheriff’s deputies.
One lawsuit was filed against the Iowa Public Information Board, which has denied the Register’s request for a video depicting a state worker restraining a 17-year-old girl at the Iowa Juvenile Home on Nov. 4, 2012. The worker, who has been terminated, slammed the girl’s head against a concrete wall, according to testimony in a state unemployment hearing. The Register has requested the video since May 2013.
The second lawsuit was filed by the Register against the Iowa Department of Public Safety and Commissioner Larry Noble in an effort to obtain law enforcement reports in the death of Michael Zubrod, 39, of Charles City, who was subject to multiple Taser jolts while in the custody of Worth County deputies on Sept. 22, 2013. A Taser is a weapon that delivers an electrical charge to incapacitate a person. The Register has requested the reports since the incident occurred, and the case is now closed.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!
