Dickey arrested for interference with official acts

Ottumwa Courier, Iowa
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Jul. 26—State Sen. Adrian Dickey of Packwood was arrested for interference with official acts Monday in Sac County while participating in RAGBRAI.

According to a complaint field by the Sac County Sheriff's Office, Dickey was among a large group of bicycle riders who "stopped in the middle of the road" on Quincy Avenue. The arrest was first reported by the website Bleeding Heartland.

Dickey was jailed and released after posting a $300 cash bond. RAGBRAI began Sunday in Sioux City; Sac County is located in northwest Iowa as well.

In the complaint, Sgt. Jonathan Meyer said a large group had stopped in the middle of the road and been there for about 90 minutes. Meyer advised Dickey to move, and "the individual advised that he was not going to move."

"I advised him he needed to move on, otherwise he would be going to jail," Meyer wrote in the complaint. "He advised me to arrest him. I advised him that the roadway down the road was open and they could go that way. The subject kept arguing with me about what he was going to do."

Dickey's attorney, Matt Schultz, said his client is innocent.

"Senator Dickey was riding in RAGBRAI earlier this week. He and his team took an alternate route that led them to a place where several hundred people were blocking a road," Schultz said in an email to the Courier late Wednesday. "Senator Dickey and his team were trying to get through the party of people and onto the bike trail, when a misunderstanding occurred between the Senator and a Sheriff's Deputy.

"Senator Dickey is innocent and believes that the evidence will show that he was not part of the party blocking the road."

Dickey, a Republican, represents District 44, which includes all of Keokuk, Jefferson and Van Buren counties, and part of Henry and Mahaska counties.

Last year Dickey introduced a bill to prohibit law enforcement officers from interfering "with the operation of a business establishment or nonprofit organization ... during an annual recreational bicycle ride across the state."