Iowa Attorney General rules September police shooting in Cedar Rapids was justified
By Jeff Forward
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DES MOINES, Iowa (KWWL) — The shooting death of a man in Cedar Rapids during a confrontation with city police officers in late September has been ruled “legally justified” by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.
Officials with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office issued a final report on the incident on Tuesday, Nov. 10, which concluded that the Sept. 22, 2026, fatal shooting of Travis Kirk McDermott, 38, by Cedar Rapids Officers Ethan Lightner and Wes Wery was legally justified.
According to a press release, officials with the state Attorney General’s office came to the conclusion based on a review and investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
The investigation found that at approximately 3:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, officers with the Cedar Rapids Police Department were dispatched to a call of a man brandishing a gun at people near Daniels Park.
“Officers Ethan Lightner, Wes Wery, Kenneth Allaire, and Janae Obbink all arrived within seconds of each other to a business across from the park,” state DOJ officials explained.
“They observed a male, later identified as Travis Kirk McDermott, standing next to the business with an extended barrel handgun raised in his right hand, over his head, as he argued with a woman on a second-story balcony,” the report states. “Officers directed McDermott to get on the ground multiple times. McDermott refused and screamed vulgarities at the officers and said he was going to shoot them. McDermott then continued to argue with the female and did not drop the gun.”
State DOJ officials described that after, “additional commands to get down and drop the gun, McDermott began to turn toward the officers. As McDermott faced them, the officers ordered McDermott more forcefully to drop the gun.”
“Instead of dropping the gun, McDermott began to lower it from over his head down toward his waist, pointing at the officers,” state DOJ officials stated. “Officers Lightner and Wery then fired their weapons, and McDermott fell to the ground. Despite lifesaving measures, McDermott succumbed to his injuries at the scene.”
An investigation after the shooting found that the weapon recovered from the scene was a Gamo PR-776 high power CO2 revolver with a 6-inch barrel.
DOJ officials explained that the probe into the incident including statements from, “both civilian and law enforcement witnesses on scene (who) believed the weapon to be a lethal firearm.”
The press release included details of the review of McDermott’s criminal history, which officials stated included numerous alcohol and drug offenses, along with harassment and assaults, including an assault on a dog contained in a person’s backyard.
“When arrested in February 2026 for an intoxication offense, McDermott threatened the arresting officer, telling him he was going to kill him, ‘blow his head off,’ and find him after work,” DOJ officials wrote.
The report is issued under the Attorney General’s independent authority under Iowa Code section 13.2 to investigate or prosecute conduct of law enforcement that results in death.
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