A Webster County Sheriff’s deputy is cleared of wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a Fort Dodge woman last month.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Thursday released its findings in a report in which the deputy Brett Knippel was legally justified in shooting 39-year-old Melissa Halda on August 4th. Halda died of her wounds. Fort Dodge Police and Webster County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in which Halda was armed with two knives and acting erratically.
Knippel was put on administrative leave while the investigation was underway. The office of the Iowa Attorney General completed a review of the incident and determined the actions of Knippel were legally justified as the lives of the officers and others were in danger. The autopsy found no signs of drugs in Halda’s system.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)