Iowa police chief suspended over MMA video
City Council members suspended the town’s police chief Monday for five days without pay after a controversial video that promoted…
City Council members suspended the town’s police chief Monday for five days without pay after a controversial video that promoted the chief’s final mixed martial arts fight was posted on a popular Internet site last week.
The council voted unanimously to suspend Rick Tasler, 32, who has been head of the police department since July 2008 in this Boone County city of 2,300. Tasler will also be required to complete 60 hours of professional development, and he will be on employment probation for six months.
Clips of the promotional video for Saturday’s fight at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines surfaced on YouTube early last week. They showed Tasler in his police uniform pointing a handgun at a sparring partner’s head and allowing a civilian to fire several weapons just outside of town. The clips were taken down late Thursday but reappeared on YouTube Sunday morning, posted by someone who used the name “madridchief500.”
Tasler said he regretted the negative image that the video brought on the town.
“I do think that I need discipline for that,” he said during Monday’s meeting. “This wasn’t supposed to be on YouTube.”
Dozens of residents rallied behind Tasler and said that his work to remake a faltering police department far outweighs what they view as a small misstep. They spoke at the meeting before the council discussed the situation during a closed session, which is allowed under Iowa law for personnel matters.
“We finally have a police department that responds to the will of the people,” former mayor Lou Galetich said. “Let’s don’t get ridiculous because of some poor publicity.”
Tasler declined to be interviewed for this article, but he told the Register last week that “some of it looks bad, and I admit that, but no crime was committed here.”
In one of the videos, Tasler demonstrates mixed martial arts hand-to-hand combat techniques and twice points a handgun at his sparring partner. The gun was not loaded, Tasler said. In another scene, Tasler allows fellow mixed martial arts fighter Joe Brammer to fire a semiautomatic rifle, shotgun and handgun near the edge of town.
Tasler described the location of the firearms display as a place designated for shooting outside the city limits “with a full berm, it’s not just an open area,” but said the site was not an official shooting range.
Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Director Penny Westfall said the academy has received complaints about the videos and is looking into them.
Despite the suspension, Mayor Jeff Gibbons said he was a “big believer” in Tasler’s work.
Councilman Lane Shaver added: “We do have a good chief of police.”
Tasler, who fights under the nickname “Lawman,” said he retired after his final bout on Saturday, which he won. He said his record was 27-0, the “best MMA record in the world.”