Troopers' force in flood victim's arrest called proper

By WILLIAM PETROSKI • bpetroski@dmreg.com • June 19, 2008

(Picture at site--can't reproduce it here.)
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Trooper Scott Devereaux of the Iowa State Patrol points his gun at Ricky Blazek, who allegedly was trying to drive around a security checkpoint on Monday in Cedar Rapids to check on his home. The State Patrol said Wednesday that troopers involved in the incident acted appropriately.


The Iowa State Patrol said Wednesday that two state troopers were justified in arresting a Cedar Rapids man who tried to run a checkpoint Monday in an effort to return to his flood-damaged home.

The State Patrol will not conduct an internal affairs investigation of the incident, state officials said.

A news photographer captured photos of the incident, which were circulated nationally. The photos showed Trooper Scott Devereaux pointing his gun at the man, Ricky Blazek, 53, while accompanied by Trooper Paul Gardner.


Col. Patrick Hoye, chief of the Iowa State Patrol, released a statement saying the troopers acted appropriately, considering the circumstances.

"At times, photographs tell only part of the story. I can ensure you that this is indeed the case in this situation," Hoye said.

Law enforcement officers pulled Blazek out of his pickup Monday after he tried to run the checkpoint, according to the Associated Press.

When he allegedly bumped a state trooper three times with the truck, officers drew their weapons, broke a window of his vehicle and wrestled Blazek out.

The trooper was not injured.

Blazek was among thousands of flood victims frustrated by authorities' decision Monday to cut off access to flood-damaged homes because of safety concerns. About 25,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in Cedar Rapids because of flooding on the Cedar River. Some are now returning as floodwaters recede.

Blazek was arrested and taken to the Jones County Jail in Anamosa because flooding forced the evacuation of the Linn County Jail in Cedar Rapids. He has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon on a peace officer, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

He has been released from jail, but remains under pretrial supervision, jail officials said.

Blazek could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Hoye said that Blazek was arrested after he had been advised numerous times that authority for passage into the flooded area had not been granted. The area was subject to a mandatory evacuation order.

E.A. "Penny" Westfall, director of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, which oversees the State Patrol's academy for new troopers, said law enforcement officers are trained to handle stressful incidents.

One type of training, known as "verbal judo," provides techniques to defuse potentially dangerous situations, she said.

"You are trying to tell the person who you are and why you are stopping them, and what you want them to do, and to be empathetic, understanding, and not let it escalate," Westfall said. "But sometimes that doesn't work."

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