Des Moines to pay for lawyers defending police officers in lawsuit against council member
The city of Des Moines will pay for attorneys who are defending two police officers in court against claims by a City Council member — after they sued her first.
Des Moines police officers Peter Wilson and Jeffrey George are suing six protesters who pushed for racial justice in the summer of 2020 after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. They claim the six protestors, including now-City Council member Indira Sheumaker, assaulted and injured them during a chaotic scene on July 1, 2020, outside the Iowa Capitol as the officers tried to arrest people accused of damaging a police vehicle at a previous protest.
More: Council member Sheumaker files counterclaim against Des Moines officers who arrested her in 2020
Sheumaker has countersued, claiming that Wilson and George were the ones who assaulted and injured her, and violated her constitutional rights while restraining her as she acted in self-defense and the defense of others. Another protestor, Brad Penna, has also countersued, with a claim that the police officers are defaming him by suggesting that he was part of a terrorist conspiracy.
On Monday, the Des Moines City Council approved hiring two attorneys, Greg R. Brown and Joseph Gamble of Duncan, Green, Brown & Langeness, P.C., for $250 an hour, plus expenses, to defend Wilson and George in court.
A state law requires that governing bodies defend officers and other employees against claims related to "issues to be litigated arising out of the officers' official duties," according to the ordinance. The attorneys will defend the officers only at times the state law applies, the ordinance says.
Six council members approved the payment without discussion because it was listed on the consent agenda. Sheumaker abstained.
She did not respond to a request for comment.
The city is hiring the attorneys retroactively because of a tight deadline for filing a response in court, according to city spokesperson Al Setka. Brown and Gamble are expected to file a response to Sheumaker's counterclaim by Sept. 14, according to court documents.
In their lawsuit, the police officers allege that as protestors were attempting to "de-arrest" Maté Muhammad, Sheumaker hit Wilson and put George in a chokehold.
Sheumaker alleges in her counterclaim that law enforcement showed up at the Capitol protest and began arresting protestors without explaining their actions, causing confusion and alarm.
She alleges she was filming Muhammed's arrest on her phone when somebody pushed her onto George. Wilson then put her into a chokehold, dragged her across the grass and tackled her, the complaint says.
From July 2020: Protester disarmed officer in fight outside Capitol, police say
Sheumaker pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge of assault on peace officer in May 2021. She received a deferred judgment, meaning the charge can be expunged from her record after a probational period, court documents show.
Sheumaker denies the officers' accusations and is seeking damages as part of her counterclaim. She was elected to the City Council to represent Ward 1 in November 2021.
Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines paying for lawyers to defend police suing Indira Sheumaker
