This critical incident community briefing is intended to provide you with information about an officer involved shooting that occurred on February 22nd, 2025 at about 3:38 a.m. in the 300 block of 18th Street in Sous City, Iowa. During this incident, an officer with the Sous City Police Department used deadly force on a man who was resisting arrest. The man had felony warrants for his arrest and attempted to flee that lawful arrest in a car while an officer is partially in the vehicle. After any officer involved shooting, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are contacted to conduct an independent investigation. The Sous City Police Department also conduct their own internal investigation. You are about to see relevant video footage, learn about other evidence, and police procedures related to the case so that you can have a better understanding of what occurred. The Sous City Police Department conducts thorough response to resistance investigations, which requires interviewing witnesses, viewing all video footage, and analyzing forensic evidence. Both officers were equipped with bodywn cameras. However, one of the officers cameras did not activate during the incident. Typically, officers bodywn cameras activate when the emergency lights of their vehicles are turned on. However, the Sous City Police Department was upgrading cameras and due to this, the backup officer's camera did not activate. The primary officer's body warn camera and incar camera did turn on and recorded the incident. Two officers involved were placed on administrative leave following the shooting. Before returning to work, officers involved in deadly force encounters are interviewed by investigators and work with a psychologist. The person who lost his life during this incident was identified as 30-year-old Vicente Manzo Hernandez. Manzo Hernandez was a known gang member and his criminal history included assault violation. no contact orders, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, and pro violation. When this incident occurred, Monzo Hernandez had a felony warrant for his arrest for failure to appear for delivery of a controlled substance and failure to a fixed drug tax stamp. The Sous City Police Department investigated the shooting to ensure that officers involved acted in accordance with the law, policy, and their training. The Supreme Court case Graham versus Connor provides a standard of when it is reasonable for an officer to use force. It considers the severity of the crime, the threat posed, and the subject's efforts to resist arrest or escape. The internal investigation found that Monzo Hernandez had active felony warrants for his arrest and place the officer's life in danger during his desperate attempt to resist arrest and flee. Monzo Hernandez's actions turned his car he was driving into a deadly weapon. The officers involved also made reasonable efforts to deescalate the situation and get Monzo Hernandez to surrender. The Sous City Police Department have determined that the officers involved acted within departmental policy. The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation conducted a separate independent investigation. Their findings were sent to the Iowa Attorney General's Office for review. Based on that investigation, the Iowa Attorney General's Office has found that the shooting is justified and within the laws of the state of Iowa. A few minutes before 3:38 a.m. on February 22nd, 2025, officer 1 saw a gray 2007 Chevy Impala. The officer recognized the car as being involved with illegal drugs and firearms and had also looted officers previously. Officer one notified officer 2 that he was following the car and was going to conduct a traffic stop. The probable cause for the stop was for non-functioning lights illuminating the rear plate as required by Iowa law. Officer one stopped the Impala in the 300 block of 18th Street. Officer one approached the car on the driver's side and officer two approached on the passenger side. The car is being driven by an adult female and Vicente Monzo Hernandez was in the front passenger seat. They were the only people in the car. Officer one explained the reason for the stop and conducted a roadside investigation that is common with all traffic stops. Manzo Hernandez refused to identify himself to the officers. When the officers went back to officers one car, they were able to identify the passenger as Monzo Hernandez. They verified that he had felony warrants for his arrest. The officers went back to the Impala. As they were approaching the car, officer 2 made a handgun gesture to the officer one to notify him that there may be weapons in the car. The officers told Monzo Hernandez that he had warrants and that he was under arrest. He refused to comply with their orders to exit the vehicle and lock the doors. During this, Monzo Hernandez was telling the woman in the driver's seat to drive the car away. The two appeared to be struggling over the shifter. Officer one ran back to the driver's side of the car. Driver exits the car and Monzo Hernandez starts to get into the driver's seat. Officer 1 enters the car and attempts to stop Monzo Hernandez from getting into the driver's seat. Officer one strikes him in the face in an attempt to overcome his resistance and to keep him from fleeing. Officer 2 uses his pocketk knife to deflate some of the car's tires. During the struggle in the car, Monzo Hernandez was able to get the car into drive. Officer one was unable to get out of the car as one of his legs had become lodged due to his body positioning. The officer was also unable to try to gain control of the steering wheel or the shifter. At that moment, the officer realized that his life was in peril and he was in danger of being seriously injured or killed due to the fact that Monza Hernandez was about to drive away rapidly with the officer partially in the car. To protect his own life, the officer fired two shots at Monza Hernandez with only one of the shots striking him. We will now show the video of the officer involved shooting. Viewer discretion is advised at this point. We got enough. Step on out, brother. He's a little chippy, but Step on out. Unlock the car, please. He's got a warrant. Yep. She's punching it. Knock his window out. Get out of the car. Get out. Get the left. My teeth out. Shots fired. Four shots fired. Shots fired. After firing the shots, officer one was able to free himself and fell to the ground. The officer sustained minor injuries from falling out of the car. Monzo Hernandez drove the car away but stopped after a short distance. Both officers immediately ran back up to the car and pulled Monzo Hernandez out. Once out of the car, the officers began rendering aid. An ambulance is immediately requested and arrived a few minutes later. Manzo Hernandez was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injury. The Sous City Police Department holds itself to a high standard of conduct and transparency. The release of this video is meant to provide you a better understanding of the circumstances leading to this incident. Thank you for taking the time to view this critical incident community briefing.