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Prosecutors dismiss cases tied to Iowa officer who resigned

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July 30th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors are dismissing several criminal charges and traffic tickets against people arrested by an Iowa police officer who is no longer considered credible. Cedar County Attorney Jeffrey Renander said Tuesday his office is dismissing cases tied to officer Robert Smith “in the interest of justice.” He says his office has concluded it is unlikely to obtain a conviction in criminal cases where Smith is the primary or only state witness.

Court records show that cases involving at least three people have been dismissed since Friday, and Renander says more will be tossed in coming days. Smith resigned last week as an officer in the town of Durant, after video surfaced showing him striking a motorcyclist during a 2017 traffic stop. He previously worked 30 years for the Iowa State Patrol.