Just after 5am on July 4th, the Marshalltown Police department responded to a call for help in the 1000 block of Washington Street. Officers found an adult male they believed to have been involved in an assault walking in the 1100 block of Washington St. When officers tried to engage with the person, they initially kept walking but eventually turned around and displayed a handgun. The officer, who was still in their patrol car, then drove forward and hit the person with their vehicle and disarming them.
Other officers arrived, and the subject was taken to the Unity Point Hospital, treated for minor injuries, and released to the Marshall County Jail. The officers involved were not injured, and the patrol vehicle sustained minimal damage. The man arrested was identified as Zannah Towah, age 22, from Marshalltown.
Towah was charged with Assault on Persons Engaged in Certain Occupations and Domestic Abuse Assault with Intent or Displays a Weapon. Marshall County Attorney Jordan Gaffney provided a review of the incident and indicated that the Officer’s use of force under the circumstances was “legally justified under Iowa law”.
Zach Tomesch, News Director KFJB