A Council Bluffs Police Officer will not be charged for firing his gun at a fleeing suspect in October.
Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber says on October 14th Officer Ben Lake arrested and handcuffed 27-year-old Adam Thomas after he attempted to return stolen goods at the Bomgaars in Council Bluffs.
Wilber says Thomas was placed into the back of Lake's cruiser. While Lake was on the phone, Thomas made his escape.
“So he basically forced his way out of the handcuffs, reached his hand through the bars on the window and opened the door from the outside,” said Matt Wilber.
Wilber says Officer Lake noticed Thomas getting into the stolen truck he arrived in. While driving away, Thomas’ truck clipped Officer Lake. Officer Lake says he believed the truck was coming at him so he fired six shots.
“He indicated that he felt that he was in fear for not only himself, but for bystanders in the area,” said Wilber.
Thomas was not hit by any of the bullets. County Attorney Matt Wilber has concluded that the use of force by Officer Lake was justified.
Wilber dropped attempted murder and aggravated assault charges again Adam Thomas after reviewing all of the surveillance footage and evidence.
"Had he not slipped the gear into neutral instead of drive and revved the engine, we probably wouldn't have been dealing with the shooting,” said Wilber.
Council Bluffs Police Chief Tim Carmody stands behind his officer’s decision.
“The view of the officer in the moment was that truck was coming at him, we're talking about 5600 tons of steel, rubber and metal,” said Chief Carmody.
Chief Carmody says this case is a perfect example of how quickly things can change for an officer.
“We react to how the situation unfolds. We don't create it; we have to react to it,” said Chief Carmody.
Officer Ben Lake is back at work, but Chief Tim Carmody says as per department policy, he has launched an internal investigation.
As for suspect Adam Thomas, investigators believe after escaping from Officer Lake he was on the run for two days stealing cars before cops in Omaha caught him.
They tell us he had meth and stolen guns. He also faces a bunch of charges including fraud and eluding an officer in Council Bluffs.
