The purpose of this page is to provide a list of links that address problems with policing in the greater Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa. I created this page to have an efficient way of responding to people who incorrectly argue that there are no problems with policing in our community.
News articles addressing problems with policing in the greater Quad Cities area
A federal jury awarded $300,000 to the woman who was stalked, harassed, and threatened by former Rock Island County Sheriff Jeff Boyd while he was the Sheriff. Boyd told the woman he could send her to jail, offered to help her with her immigration status, and used her vulnerability on immigration and those threats to try and coerce her into a romantic relationship she didn’t desire. https://qctimes.com/news/local/jury-orders-former-rock-island-county-sheriff-boyd-to-pay-300-000-to-woman-he/article_51906c82-6615-5b1f-874c-8f88f70795b4.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1
Sexual assault and child pornography charges have been filed against an East Moline police officer, who served as a school resource officer at United Township High School: https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/charges-filed-against-student-resource-officer-working-at-united-township-high-school/526-cf6375e4-de9f-4b75-b876-39dd2b455e48. This police officer later entered a guilty plea. https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/former-ut-school-resource-officer-pleads-guilty-to-possession-of-child-pornography/526-a1c5cee5-6e2c-460b-b3a5-945b5f06cae8
A former Moline Police Department Sergeant has been arrested after an investigation alleged he stole from a department credit card and a local youth baseball bank: https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/former-moline-police-sergeant-arrested-and-charged-with-theft-over-10k-and-official-misconduct/526-d6612b42-fe14-4759-bae7-5117d184efed
Moline’s chief of police registered a blood alcohol level of more than 2.5 times over the legal limit the evening he was cited with an OWI. Other Moline police officers were present in the car with him as he was driving drunk at 90mph in a 65mph zone. https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/moline-police-chief-cited-for-owi-after-bac-was-more-than-2x-legal-limit/526-3823e312-94e8-4d31-885f-ca597f858953
ACLU suing Hampton, East Moline police and Rock Island sheriff’s office for false arrest and excessive use of force against college athlete: https://www.wqad.com/article/news/aclu-suing-hampton-east-moline-and-rock-island-police-officers-for-false-arrest-and-excessive-use-of-force-against-college-athlete/526-48365366-4828-4a44-98bc-ffbb55e49a54
An East Moline, Illinois police officer was jailed and faces six felony charges in connection with a suspicious car sale and an alleged scheme to exploit money from an elderly person: https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/east-moline-police-officer-arrested/526-16b23144-316a-40a6-8447-4d38c47744ad
A Davenport police officer brutally beats department-store shoplifter without apparent provocation, and it’s caught on video. But officer escapes criminal charges – and keeps his job. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/quad-cities-police-office_n_3720974
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Davenport police officer who stomped on a man’s ankle was using excessive force, but that the legal doctrine of qualified immunity means that neither the officer nor the Davenport police department will be held liable. https://qctimes.com/news/local/court-officer-who-stomped-on-suspects-ankle-cannot-be-sued/article_95a9f4b7-9b92-50fe-8e1c-37d8f84b56bf.html
Police brutality and a lack of accountability has been a problem in Davenport, IA for some time now. A Davenport police officer was “disciplined” but not fired for lying on in police report in which he claimed a woman who he attacked was actually the aggressor, is a good example. In that case, the video showed the officer’s violence and lies. The Davenport police chief agreed the officer’s actions were improper but refused to fire him. The local prosecutors refused to bring charges against the officer. https://jonathanturley.org/2013/08/19/iowa-officer-beats-woman-because-she-appeared-willing-to-fight-police-chief-refuses-to-fire-him-and-says-such-things-just-happen-from-time-to-time/. https://who13.com/news/police-brutality-chief-responds-to-allegation/
A jury has found former Muscatine police officer guilty of sexually assaulting a Davenport woman while he was on duty. https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/former-muscatine-police-officer-found-guilty-of-sexual-assault/526-62f29b5b-0e76-4451-9cb0-c068573055c7
Former Muscatine Police Officer Benjamin L. Varela was fired July 12 for violating department code and policies. A week later, he was charged with assault for punching a handcuffed woman. https://qctimes.com/muscatine/news/local/in-incident-report-fired-muscatine-police-officer-said-he-punched-a-woman-in-the-face/article_2de58d04-0ae8-5922-bab5-08d59b2109d2.html
GALESBURG, Illinois- An Illinois Department of Corrections parole officer was arrested for sexually assaulting two females while working, police say. Garrick Randolph, 52, was accused of sexual assault by one of his female parolees on Aug. 12, 2019, according to a statement from Illinois State Police. The parolee said in mid-July 2019, Randolph sexually assaulted her while she was in her home, the statement said. A second female victim said Randolph also sexually assaulted her while he was working as a parole officer, according to the statement. https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/illinois-parole-officer-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-parolees/526-998be0b3-dc1d-45f6-84df-dd5fedd85ea1
The Cedar County, Iowa Sheriff is not honoring the arrests made by officers of the Durant Police Department. “We had an incident here with a Durant officer wanting our dispatcher to lie on an arrest,” said Sheriff Warren Wethington. The Sheriff says the Durant Police Department hired a retired Iowa State Trooper, Robert Smith, who has a history of abusing his power, according to Sheriff Wethington. https://www.wqad.com/article/news/local/drone/8-in-the-air/cedar-county-sheriff-wont-honor-arrests-made-by-durant-police-officers/526-11b45315-f876-4a3e-b8fb-e10793675d77
The city of Maquoketa and Jackson County agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of Drew Edwards for $4.5 million after he died in police custody. https://www.kwqc.com/2020/09/10/city-of-maquoketa-agrees-to-settle-wrongful-death-lawsuit-for-45-million/
Finally, please note that the vast majority of problems in policing never make the news and so there is no article that I can provide for those cases. This means that what you are seeing above is the tip of the iceberg; the problems with policing in the greater Quad Cities area is much more serious than what I can present here, and I say that as an attorney who has first-hand knowledge of many instances of police brutality, racism, etc., that I can’t discuss due to attorney-client confidentiality.
A couple of articles addressing the problems in policing in general
Police use of force depends upon the race of the suspect: https://www.learnaboutguns.com/2020/06/17/police-use-of-force-depends-upon-the-race-of-the-suspect/
Our criminal courts are inherently racist: https://www.learnaboutguns.com/2020/07/05/our-criminal-courts-are-inherently-racist/