No charges against D.M. officer who fatally shot man

No criminal charges will be filed against a Des Moines police officer who fatally shot a man through her squad car window while she was seated inside, but an internal investigation continues.

She won't return to active duty until that investigation is completed, police say.

A seven-member grand jury decided Wednesday that charges weren't warranted against seven-year veteran Vanessa Miller, who shot 28-year-old Ryan Keith Bolinger June 9. The West Des Moines man had led officers on a slow pursuit through northwestern Des Moines, exited his vehicle and approached Miller's squad car.

"After reviewing every piece of available evidence, they decided not to indict," Polk County Attorney John Sarcone told the Register.

MORE: Dispatch audio recounts fatal D.M. officer-involved shooting

An attorney for Bolinger's family did not immediately return a request for comment.

Des Moines police praised the decision of the grand jury, which opened proceedings Monday and delivered its decision just before noon Wednesday.

"Obviously we're pleased with the grand jury's decision. And we appreciate their commitment to reviewing the evidence and working through it," said Sgt. Paul Parizek, a spokesman for the department.

Stew Barnes, president of the Des Moines police union, echoed that sentiment.

"We appreciate the serious gravity of the situation and understand that the grand jury took a look at all the evidence presented and had a difficult job," Barnes said. "I think the grand jury is an important step. If a county attorney believes they should take it to the grand jury level, it’s important that they have the discretion to do so."

Miller is working as an administrative assistant with pay as the Des Moines Police Department continues the internal investigation, which Parizek said is far from finished. Shooting investigations can take a long time, he said.

Dash camera footage from the shooting won't be released until that investigation is completed, Parizek said.

Grand jury meets in secret proceedings

This was the eighth fatal police shooting reviewed by a Polk County grand jury since 2007, all of which ended with jurors choosing not to indict, Sarcone said.

It was the first case Sarcone said he has seen in which an officer fired the fatal round from within a police vehicle.

Sarcone suggested that during the grand jury process, witnesses who had not been publicly mentioned by law enforcement were subpoenaed to testify. The proceedings are secret, and documents, names of jurors and those subpoenaed are never released, Sarcone said.

Robert Rigg, a professor at Drake University Law School, said some would argue that Iowa’s grand jury process, while secret, is similar to allowing a citizen review board to examine a case.

“The contrary argument is: How do we know it’s fair if it’s not transparent? The other side says … they are confidential because we want to protect the people involved, since an investigation doesn’t mean somebody actually committed a crime,” Rigg said.

Shootings by police get more scrutiny

Rigg said the dynamics of the discussion of police shootings and the expected standard of review have changed since Michael Brown was shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., last year.

“I think there’s a feeling that somehow police were given a pass on a lot of shootings before Ferguson," Rigg said. "After Ferguson, and especially after the videos that have surfaced in regard to police shootings … (everybody) is looking at them with a higher degree of skepticism.”

In Brown’s case, the jury chose not to indict the officer, but the county prosecutor took the rare step of releasing documents and evidence pertaining to the decision, Rigg said.

“Here in Iowa, when they say they’re secret, they’re not kidding,” Rigg said.

Civil options exist for victim's family

Though the grand jury chose not to indict, the Bolinger family still has legal options, Rigg said.

"It doesn’t mean the family can't do something about it in a civil case at the federal level. And it still doesn’t clear up the internal question of whether the officer used force in an appropriate fashion as dictated by (police) policy," Rigg said.

Des Moines police policy allows officers to use deadly force in these situations: at an approved firing range; to destroy injured or dangerous animals; when legally ordered or authorized to do so by a commanding officer; and when they believe such force is necessary to protect themselves or another person from the use or threat of deadly force.

Officers also may use their firearms to arrest someone who is known to have committed a dangerous felony or has threatened or used deadly force, and when officers have already made a reasonable attempt to make their intent to arrest known. All other methods of apprehending the person must be exhausted first, and officers must also believe that discharging their firearms can be done without substantial risk of injury to innocent persons.

The policy does not allow officers to use their firearm in three scenarios under department policy: for the purpose of a warning; for shooting at moving vehicles except in self-defense or in defense of another officer or third party; or in cases where a warrant is on file, and the identity of the suspect is known to police and their escape would not be an immediate danger to an innocent person or officer.