A Des Moines man is suing two of the city’s police officers, claiming they violated his civil rights after he tried to assist a homeless person who was being investigated for shoplifting.
Edward Kirby, 45, is suing the City of Des Moines in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Also named as defendants are Officers Michael Hoopes and Bryan Loftus.
Kirby alleges that on Aug. 17, 2023, he was filling his car with gasoline at a QuikTrip convenience store on Des Moines’ University Avenue when he noticed Hoopes and Loftus responding to a reported shoplifting incident.
The suspect was a homeless man Kirby knew from his neighborhood and so, according to the lawsuit, Kirby tried to pay for the stolen goods, hoping that would dissuade the officers from arresting the man.
The officers allegedly told Kirby that in addition to the alleged theft, the suspect was trespassing due to his being barred from the store and would be going to jail for that offense.
According to the lawsuit, the officers then used their in-vehicle computer to access information about the suspect and discovered there was no record of him being barred from the store. Kirby, who was unaware of that at the time, alleges he then asked the officers how much the man’s bail was going to be, at which point Loftus told him, “Hey, go away!”
Kirby asked again about the bail, allegedly leading to Hoopes getting out of the patrol car and telling Kirby to turn around and put his hands behind his back, informing him he was being handcuffed and detained for interference with police.
Kirby allegedly protested, explaining that he was only trying to find out how much bail would be, and Hoopes reportedly responded by asking Kirby if he wanted to go to jail.
Within a minute, the lawsuit claims, Loftus advised Kirby the suspect was not going to be arrested for trespassing and was being released. Loftus allegedly then took from Kirby the QuikTrip products that Kirby had just paid for and returned them to the store.
Loftus and Hoopes then released Kirby, with no citations issued. According to the lawsuit, he had been detained by the officers for less than two minutes. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for civil rights violations and false arrest.
The City of Des Moines, which says it has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation, has yet to file a response to the lawsuit, which was initially filed in state court.
