Iowa Attorney General’s Office concludes fatal shooting of David Leroy Kintz, Jr. by police officers was justified
Photo illustration: crime and courts / MGN
(ABC 6 News) — In a report issued on Monday, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office has concluded that the February 6 fatal shooting of David Leroy Kintz, Jr. by two Des Moines police officers was legally justified.
According to a press release, Attorney General Bird’s conclusion was based on a review and investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
The investigation found that on February 6, narcotics officers surveilled a woman’s vehicle as part of a drug investigation. When the woman parked at a gas station, a masked man, later identified as Kintz, exited the passenger’s seat with a duffle bag and left on foot.
The officers requested that patrol officers make contact with the man, and two officers responded.
The first officer asked Kintz to take his hands out of his pockets, and Kintz complied. When the officer told Kintz they had received a call about a suspicious man with a mask, Kintz responded that he had COVID and offered to let the officer search his bag.
When the second officer arrived, Kintz set his bag on the ground and put his hands back in his sweatshirt, saying it was “freezing.”
An officer reminded Kintz to keep his hands out of his pockets and informed Kintz he was going to have to check his pocket contents. When the officer checked Kintz’s pockets, he felt a long, slim object in one of the pockets, which Kintz indicated was a screwdriver.
Kints then grabbed the screwdriver from his pocket and lunged at the officer, stabbing at his head and neck. The officer drew his firearm as he backed up, and both officers opened fire.
Kintz collapsed but was alert and communicating as the officers handcuffed him. They immediately called for an ambulance and provided medical care. Kintz later died at the hospital.
At the time of the incident, Kintz had a warrant out for his arrest for a parole violation. According to the press release, he told his family that he refused to go back to prison and that if law enforcement stopped him, he would stab them and “make them kill me.”