Iowa City has added a section to the city’s website, allowing the public to see how much progress is being made on the council’s 17-point resolution addressing the demands of the Iowa Freedom Riders regarding policing, affordable housing and other issue involving racial justice and equity. City Manager Geoff Fruin called the new section “a […]
Iowa City Police Department
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa-Nebraska NAACP and the Iowa Police Chiefs Association launch a task force to examine police-community issues
The Iowa-Nebraska NAACP and the Iowa Police Chiefs Association (IPCA) announced the creation of a new statewide task force to work on improving relations between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. “It is undeniable that now is the time for improving law enforcement and community relationships. Those relationships are authenticated by transparent practices […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘This is amazing,’ says mayor as Iowa City Council passes resolution to restructure ICPD and address other demands of the Iowa Freedom Riders
“I’m excited,” Mayor Bruce Teague said at the end of the Iowa City Council’s special formal session on Tuesday night. The almost four-and-a-half-hour meeting followed the city council’s two-hour-long normal formal meeting, and was devoted to developing a plan to address the social justice issues that have come to forefront as a result of local […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Freedom Riders release a revised list of demands, march peacefully through downtown Iowa City
The crowd gathered on the Pentacrest for Monday’s night protest against racism and police violence was noticeably smaller than the crowds at last week’s protests, but still numbered in the hundreds. An organizer from the Iowa Freedom Riders told the crowd at the beginning of the protest that her group appreciated the continued commitment of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Judge orders Mazin Mohamedali to be held without bail
Update: This story has been updated with additional information about the Iowa Department of Corrections’ role in the decision to keep Mohamedali in jail. On Monday morning, a judge ordered Mazin Mohamedali, a leader of the Iowa Freedom Riders, held without bail following his arrest on Sunday on three charges related to an Iowa City […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City protest leader arrested (Updated)
Update: The original version of this story incorrectly reported the offense for which Mazin Mohamedali is serving probation. One of the leaders of the protests in Iowa City was arrested on Sunday night on charges of unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct–obstructing a public way and violating the terms of his probation agreement that resulted from an […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Protest organizers in Iowa City name themselves the Iowa Freedom Riders, present a list of 13 demands
Over the last week, the protests against racism and police violence in Iowa City that start at the Pentacrest and move through town have attracted the most public attention, and with good reason. Those marches have led to stand-offs with law enforcement officers, including one on Wednesday night during which an Iowa State Patrol officer […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Protesters in Iowa City march to I-80 on Friday night, sing in memory of Breonna Taylor
After almost a full week of extraordinary protests against racism and police violence in Iowa City, sparked by the May 25 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, much of what happened at the protest on Friday night felt somewhat familiar. A crowd of hundreds gathered at the Pentacrest to remember the victims of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
After confrontations with police on Dubuque Street the night before, protesters peacefully marched past I-80 Thursday
The hundreds of protesters who gathered at the Pentacrest in downtown Iowa City on Thursday night were not going to be deterred. Not by the memory of the previous night’s protest, which ended when police in riot gear threw flash-bang grenades and fired multiple rounds of tear gas. And not by the weather forecast that […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘It was terrifying’: Police use flash-bang grenades and tear gas against protesters in Iowa City
The Wednesday night protests in Iowa City ended with law enforcement officers using flash-bang grenades and firing tear gas at protesters, many of whom were chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot.” After more than five hours of marching through the streets of Iowa City on Monday, spurred by the killing of George Floyd at the hands […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Interim ICPD chief makes vows to the public ahead of protests Tuesday, where some police removed riot gear
Mayor Bruce Teague began the Iowa City Council meeting on Tuesday night by addressing the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers on May 25, and the protests that have followed. Teague, who spoke at a protest over Floyd’s killing and the problems of racism and police violence, talked about “shock and horror” people […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Coralville is quiet, one glass panel is broken in Iowa City as protests over racism and police violence continue
People gathered in front of the Coralville Police Department on Monday to protest racism and police violence, and express solidarity with others around the country moved to action following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. Some held signs, some chanted, some chalked messages on the sidewalk. Even though the protest was peaceful, […]
