Sgt. Jim Smith
The Iowa Department of Public Safety says four officers who fired on the man accused of killing a State Trooper on April 9th have been cleared by the Iowa Attorney General’s office.
DPS says a Hardin County Sheriff’s Department deputy fired and missed Michael Lang after Trooper Jim Smith was shot and killed by Lang as officers entered his Grundy Center home trying to arrest him.
Troopers later used an armored personnel carrier to enter Lang’s home and he was hit three times by officers after they say he fired on them. The 41-year-old Lang was hospitalized until April 21st when he was released and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and assault on a peace officer.
All of the officers who fired at Lang were on administrative leave while the Attorney General investigated the shooting. The report says the officer’s actions were “justified and reasonable.”
The names of the officers who returned fire at Lang are: Hardin County Sheriff’s Deputy Mitch Kappel, a 13-year veteran of the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office; Trooper Josh Guhl, a 13-year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol, Trooper Matt Costello, a 17-year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol, and Trooper Spencer Baltes, a four-year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol.