Des Moines police face another excessive-force lawsuit

Three Des Moines police officers are being sued for the alleged excessive force used in the arrest of a man who sustained a broken jaw.

It’s the second excessive-force lawsuit to be filed against Des Moines police in the past five weeks.

Charles Leroy White, 49, of Des Moines is suing the City of Des Moines and police officers Alex Andersen, Brian Oswald and Grant Purcell in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

The lawsuit alleges that on Dec. 1, 2024, at 11:30 a.m., Des Moines police were dispatched to a parking lot to investigate a report of a man, later identified as White, looking into parked vehicles and pulling on their door handles.

Andersen, Purcell and Oswald allegedly arrived and instructed White to leave the property, which he did. Later, however, White returned to the area and the officers attempted to take him into custody.

According to the lawsuit, White, who was unarmed, backed away from the officers and Oswald pointed a Taser at White and ordered him to get on the ground before discharging the weapon and striking White in the neck with one of the Taser’s two electronic probes.

White initially attempted to run away, but then “voluntarily lowered himself to the ground, coming to rest on his back” and surrendered, the lawsuit alleges.

According to the lawsuit, the officers’ body cameras captured video of White “lying on his back, with his hands visible and empty, offering no resistance,” at which point Oswald yelled at White, “Don’t you move! Get on your back now!”

The lawsuit asserts that Andersen then rolled White over, from his back and onto his chest, after which the officers gathered around him and Purcell applied enough pressure to White’s jaw to fracture it. The lawsuit asserts that White exclaimed, “You broke my jaw,” and “Please don’t do that,” and Oswald deployed his Taser, in stun-gun mode, against White’s left leg.

“The force applied to White after he surrendered, including the application of force to his jaw and the drive-stun to his leg, was objectively unreasonable, unnecessary, and excessive,” the lawsuit alleges.  “White’s serious injury was obvious. White is heard on body-worn camera stating that his jaw was broken and screaming in pain.”

According to the lawsuit, the officers did not summon any emergency medical personnel to the scene, nor did they arrange for any other medical care, instead transporting White to the police station and then to the jail.

“White was not provided medical treatment for his fractured jaw until Dec. 2, 2024, when personnel at the Polk County Jail arranged for White to be taken for medical care at Broadlawns Medical Center,” the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for alleged excessive force, denial of medical care and assault and battery.

As part of the lawsuit, White’s attorneys argue the Des Moines Police Department has engaged in a policy or practice of encouraging or tolerating the use of force against arrestees who have initially resisted but then surrendered. The lawsuit cites a series of excessive-force claims, dating back to 2008, that have resulted in $1.7 million in settlements paid by the city.

Those incidents, the lawsuit claims, “reflect a continuing, widespread, and persistent pattern of unconstitutional conduct” by Des Moines police.

City officials, who say they do not comment on pending litigation, have yet to file a response to White’s lawsuit.

Court records indicate that after White was taken into custody he was criminally charged with interference with official acts and attempted burglary in the third degree. The interference charge was later dismissed and White pleaded guilty to the attempted burglary charge. He was sentenced to one year of probation.

DM police also sued over traffic stop

On Sept. 2, 2026, Eric Lee Kelley, 39, filed a lawsuit against Des Moines police, claiming the officers who allegedly assaulted him during a 2024 traffic stop were later captured on video laughing about how they “really worked him over.”

Police reports indicate that during a traffic stop, Kelley attempted to flee, resulting in what the lawsuit calls “a physical struggle.” Officers attempted to take Kelley to the ground, at which point one officer allegedly punched Kelley in the back of the head four or five times. At that point, the lawsuit asserts, Kelley stopped resisting.

According to the lawsuit, Kelley, who was unarmed, lowered himself into a prone position face down in the roadway. The lawsuit claims the officers’ body camera footage shows Kelley lying motionless on the ground, held at gunpoint by the officers, for about eight seconds before a police canine began biting Kelley in the leg.

The officers allegedly allowed the dog to continue biting and holding Kelley while they directed profanities at Kelley and yelled conflicting instructions at him. After the incident, the lawsuit claims, body camera footage captured the officers “laughing and recounting their exploits” to each other.

One officer allegedly told her colleagues, “You really worked him over,” while another allegedly boasted of punching Kelley, saying, “I was nonchalant as I was punching his head.” “It was awesome,” another officer is alleged to have replied.

The city has denied any wrongdoing in that case and asserted the officers, who acted in good faith and in a legal manner, have qualified immunity. A trial date has yet to be scheduled.