Judge: Former state lawyer's suit against DMPD over 2020 protest arrest can go to trial

A former Iowa assistant attorney general who was tackled and arrested by Des Moines police during the 2020 George Floyd protests can take his lawsuit against the officers to trial, a federal judge has ruled.

Paxton Williams, who at the time represented the state in tax cases, joined a protest march to the Iowa Capitol on June 1, 2020. He said he later returned to the entryway of his East Village apartment building and watched the ongoing confrontations between police and alleged rioters from there.

As described in court filings, police officers approached the doorway and ordered him to move. He alleges Des Moines police Officer Jacob Hedlund then tackled and used pepper spray on him without giving him a chance to submit to arrest voluntarily. He was cited for failure to disperse and spent the night in the Polk County Jail. Prosecutors later dismissed the citation.

Williams, who now works in private practice, sued the city in 2022, alleging he was arrested without probable cause and subjected to excessive force in violation of the Iowa and U.S. constitutions. The city asked the court to grant summary judgment on all claims, arguing both the arrest and the use of force were justified given the riot conditions around them and that the officers were protected by a state law shielding officials from liability for actions taken in response to an emergency.

In his order Wednesday, federal Magistrate Judge Stephen Jackson granted the city judgment on a number of claims, but not all. It should be up to a jury, Jackson ruled, to decide whether Hedlund's actions constituted excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment's protections from unreasonable searches and seizures, or whether he committed assault and battery or intentionally inflicted emotional distress under Iowa law.

WATCH Video shows 'inexplicable' police use of force during 2020 protest response

The city did not respond to a request for comment. Williams, via his attorneys, told the Register that “I appreciate the court’s thoughtful ruling and look forward to a jury’s resolution of the issues that remain.”

Judge rules several claims can go to trial

On the question of excessive force, Jackson found there are genuine factual disputes about what Williams was saying and doing before he was pepper-sprayed and tackled, and whether Hedlund's actions were justified.

"In the Court’s view, the body camera video of the interaction between Officer Hedlund and Williams supports certain portions of both parties’ assertions and undermines other portions of both parties’ assertions," Jackson wrote. "Resolution of those disputed facts requires assessment of credibility and weighing of all the evidence."

Related: Judge orders Des Moines police to turn over hundreds of use-of-force reports from protests

For the same reason, Jackson wrote, it must be left to a jury to decide whether Hedlund's actions were objectively unreasonable so as to constitute assault and battery under Iowa law.

And on Williams' claim of infliction of emotional distress, Jackson ruled for the city as to most of the officials named, but found that "reasonable men may differ" as to whether Hedlund's use of force were "sufficiently extreme and outrageous to result in liability." He reserved that claim for jurors to decide, as well.

Wrongful seizure, retaliation claims dismissed

Williams argued police lacked cause to arrest him for failure to disperse or violating the 9 p.m. curfew imposed by Polk County during the protests. Jackson disagreed, finding that, whether Williams was on a public sidewalk or in a privately owned entryway outside the building, it is indisputable he was not in his home as required by the curfew, and that Hedlund also reasonably perceived Williams had refused repeated instructions to disperse.

Jackson also dismissed claims against the officer who wrote Williams' citation, despite several inaccuracies it contained, finding she reasonably relied on information she received from other officers. And an internal affairs officer who interviewed Williams about his subsequent complaint, and whom Williams perceived as trying to intimidate him, cannot be held liable because there is no evidence he took "retaliatory adverse actions" against Williams, Jackson said.

Also tossed were claims for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and numerous claims for alleged violations of the Iowa Constitution.

Status of other Floyd protest lawsuits

The decision allowing Williams' lawsuit to go to trial is the latest in a series of setbacks for the city in defending its officers' conduct during the 2020 protests.

At least seven lawsuits filed by several dozen plaintiffs have accused Des Moines police of misconduct in their response to protestors. One already has gone to trial, resulting in a partial jury verdict against the city and, eventually, a $150,000 settlement.

Other cases are on appeal after federal courts rejected the city's motions for summary judgment. In one case, the city has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appellate court ruling that officers who tackled and pepper-sprayed a freelance photographer were not entitled to immunity.

The city has won dismissal, or agreed to settlements for minimal amounts, to resolve several other cases, including claims from a group of men arrested outside the East Village's Blazing Saddle bar while providing first aid to protestors.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines police 2020 George Floyd protest lawsuit can go to trial