Three Council Bluffs Police officers have been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting death of a suspect. Council Bluffs Police tried to serve an arrest warrant on 33-year-old John Bothwell the morning of October 24th. Bothwell led officers on a foot chase that ended at the enclosed drive-through bay of a liquor store. Once inside the bay, Bothwell carjacked a vehicle and used it to pin Officer Jack Price to the wall.
Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber says his investigation has determined that the three responding officers – Price, Terry Cozad and Greg Schultz – acted appropriately, first trying to subdue Bothwell by punching him and by using a Taser and pepper spray.
The incident ended when Cozad shot and killed Bothwell after Bothwell used the car to pin Officer Price to the wall. Wilber says the case is, quote, “Sad. Tragic. But right.”