Reserve deputy's shot hits car after chase

Polk County sheriff's officials are determining what actions will be taken regarding the unintentional firing of a gun by a reserve deputy after a weekend chase, a department spokeswoman said.

Troy Cline, the reserve deputy, accidentally fired one round into the passenger-side door of a vehicle involved in a car chase that began in Grimes and ended in Urbandale about 6 p.m. Sunday, said Lt. Jana Abens, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's department.

The shot damaged the vehicle but did not injure anyone, Abens said. She said this was the first time she could remember that a reserve deputy had unintentionally fired a gun while on a call.

Sheriff's officials are investigating the firearm discharge. "It's undetermined right now" what the agency will do regarding the reserve deputy's actions, Abens said.

Typically, a sheriff's deputy is placed on leave until after an investigation is completed, Abens said. She was unsure whether that would occur in Cline's case, "but that's just how things have been done before," she said.

The car chase began after a motorist called 911 and reported that a silver Grand Prix had run a red light going south on Iowa Highway 141 from Granger at 5:52 p.m.

The driver of the Grand Prix was later identified as Steven Schulte, 24, of Carroll, authorities said.

Cline and Sheriff's Deputy Doug Miller were working in Grimes together and spotted the vehicle. Miller activated his vehicle's lights and siren to try to stop the car, a news release said.

Schulte continued south at 75 to 80 mph, the release said. He ran two red lights and drove into oncoming traffic in a construction zone, authorities said.

An Iowa State Patrol trooper positioned his vehicle in front of the suspect's vehicle to warn oncoming traffic, while Miller followed behind the suspect, the release said. Schulte then slowed down and stopped in the 3300 block of Northwest 100th Street.

Miller and Cline exited their vehicle and approached Schulte from the driver side.

Schulte refused to exit when the officers approached and was "unresponsive with a faraway stare," Abens said.

Miller and Cline broke the vehicle's front windows on the driver and passenger sides to gain access to Schulte, the news release said. Cline used a baton to break a window, Abens said.

Medics called to the scene told officials that Schulte might have had a drug reaction or other medical issue, Abens said. Schulte was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for minor cuts caused by broken glass and for a medical evaluation.

The case remained under investigation, and charges are possible.

"If there was a medical condition, that might be taken into account," Abens said. "But a lot of lives were put in danger, too."

The Polk County sheriff's office is also doing an internal review of Cline's discharge of his gun, Abens said.

In Iowa,reserve officers serve as supplemental support for certified law officers and make a minimum of $1 per year. Reserve officers must undergo hundreds of hours of training to become certified.

Under Iowa law, reserve officers can carry weapons only if they become approved by "the governing body and certified by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy council."

Iowa reserve officers have the same rights, privileges, obligations and duties as other law officers, according to Iowa law.

The process of reviewing the actions of reserve deputies is the same as that for full-time deputies, Abrens said. The sheriff's office's command staff will evaluate the situation and then recommend an action.

"Reserve deputies and deputies are held to the same standard," Abens said. "They're governed by the same general orders that give us an outline of our job duties and responsibilities."

Abens said she was aware of only one other case of a Polk County sheriff's reserve deputy unintentionally firing a gun. She said the previous case happened in March 2013 when a reserve deputy accidentally fired a gun during a firearms session for reserve deputies on county property.

A possible outcome of a reserve officer's unintentional discharge of a weapon could be that additional firearms training is required, Abens said.

"It's basically up to command staff," Abens said. "They will consult whomever they need to, definitely firearm trainers."