A Council Bluffs police officer who shot a man three times during a pursuit Tuesday will not face charges.
Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber says he has cleared officer Jason Burleigh following an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Burleigh attempted to stop a pickup Tuesday in the 3400 block of South 11th Street in Council Bluffs around 3 a.m. The driver of the pickup fled, leading officers on a pursuit south on Interstate 29 at speeds in excess of 100 miles-an- hour. Wilber says the pickup rammed two cruisers, which caused Burleigh to use his weapon. He fired nine times at 28-year-old Clifton Wade of Bondurant .
“Mr. Wade was ultimately struck by three of those nine rounds. One went through his left ear into his neck and was lodged kine of at the base of his skull. One hit him in the left shoulder, one hit him in the left elbow, Wilber says. Wade was taken to an Omaha hospital. He has undergone two surgeries and is expected to make a full recovery. Wilber says they think Wade was trying to avoid being caught because he was wanted in central Iowa.
He says they believe Wade took off because has three pending warrants from the Des Moines area, including a OWI warrant in Warren County and a couple driving warrants in Polk County. Wade has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, aggravate assault on a police officer and felony eluding. Wilber says additional charges for criminal mischief are pending. Once released from the hospital, Wade will be turned over to Nebraska authorities to begin extradition to Iowa. The incident was one of three officer-involved shootings in Iowa during the week. Council Bluffs Police Chief Tim Carmody says he doesn’t know what’s caused the uptick in incidents.
Carmody says the suspects create the situations and says in Wade’s case he could have stopped several times during the chase, but chose to risk his life and the lives officers. Two officers involved in the chase were taken to the hospital for the treatment of minor injuries and have been released.
(By Ryan Matheny, KMA, Shenandoah)