Iowa patrolman ticketed for going 92 mph

An off-duty Iowa State Patrol captain was issued a $110 speeding ticket Friday following an internal investigation into a Nov. 24 incident in which a trooper initially shook his hand and let him go.

Capt. Ken Clary was ticketed for going 92 mph in a 70 mph zone along Interstate 80 between Altoona and Mitchellville around 7:30 a.m. Nov. 24.

It is unknown from the information released Friday if Clary was actually going faster than the speed noted on the ticket he was issued. Trooper Bryan Guill made no written report of the stop, said Sgt. Scott Bright, a spokesman for the department.

Iowans lose their license when convicted of driving 25 mph or more over the limit.

"I don't know what speed he was going because there was no initial report of it," Bright said, noting that officers have discretion about whether they want to lower a speed on a ticket.

Before Friday, there was no public record of the stop. The department first publicly acknowledged that the incident took place on Monday following an inquiry from The Des Moines Register.

Video of the incident released Friday shows Clary immediately jumped out of his vehicle, walked toward Guill and shook hands. Clary appeared to be laughing and told Guill, "Sorry, I'll try to slow it down a little bit," before hopping back into the van and driving away.

Clary was wearing his uniform while driving the van owned by Special Olympics Iowa, a group where he volunteers. Officers, by department rules, are not generally allowed to wear their uniforms while off duty.

The State Patrol said that administrative action has been taken in the case but Bright said the department is not making details of those actions public, citing it as a personnel matter exempt from Iowa's open records law.

Trooper Guill's decision not to initially write the ticket was not part of the investigation and he was not disciplined in connection with the incident, Bright said.

Clary declined to comment Friday. He has not yet paid the ticket and has the right to challenge it in court.

With court costs, the infraction will cost him $208.50 if he is convicted.

Patrol officers breaking Iowa's road rules have made prominent headlines in recent years. The most highly scrutinized situation involved a trooper driving Gov. Terry Branstad in 2013 and doing "a hard 90." The trooper initially faced no consequences until after the incident made headlines.

In that situation, Trooper Steve Lawrence was issued a $181 ticket three months after the incident.

The 2013 case involving the governor is part of an ongoing lawsuit brought about by Larry Hedlund, a Division of Criminal Investigation special agent who was fired in 2013.

Hedlund initiated an April 26, 2013, pursuit of an SUV that zipped past him on Highway 20 in northern Iowa. He pursued the vehicle and asked dispatchers to send a trooper to make a stop. A trooper clocked the SUV at 84 mph and raced to catch up, but ultimately didn't stop the vehicle after seeing it was Lawrence who was driving Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Hedlund says his termination was in retaliation for him complaining about the lack of accountability in the department.

The Iowa Supreme Court last month announced it will hear an appeal in his lawsuit about whether the state should have a public policy that protects police officers from losing their jobs for trying to enforce the law.