OTTUMWA, IOWA -- The Iowa State Patrol has completed its investigation into an accident involving an Ottumwa Police officer.
According to Lt. Tom McAndrew with the Ottumwa Police Department, the state patrol has issued Officer Kobes a ticket after he struck a garbage truck in the middle of a downtown intersection.
The department says that Officer Kobes was responding to a call, with lights and sirens, heading north on south McLean Street. When the officer approached the intersection, he hit a garbage truck, causing severe damage to his squad car.
“This is just a traffic ticket any citizen would receive for violating a traffic offense. On top of that, there is an internal process which the officer will be going through. We have the accident review board, it meets on a regular basis, and they will review the accident. They will then make a determination if any other disciplinary action needs to be taken,” said McAndrew.
Lt. McAndrew added that the Ottumwa Police Department had no part of the investigation.
“Following the accident yesterday, the state patrol was contacted. We requested them to send a trooper over to conduct an investigation into the accident. So the Ottumwa Police Department did not play any part in the investigation,” McAndrew said.
Officers with the department are trained on how to approach intersections when responding to a call.
“The officer is responsible to make sure that before he or she goes through the intersection with lights and sirens, before he goes through a stop light or stop sign, that it is safe to do so,” McAndrew said.
Officer Kobes was taken to the hospital after he complained of minimal pain. He was released, and is expected to return to duty.
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