INDEPENDENCE | City officials about a year ago refused to explain why they fired officer David Winger, a key figure linked to a number of controversies during 11 years with the Independence Police Department.
At the time, former City Manager Steve Diers said only that he had the responsibility to hire and fire, and that he terminated Winger “for cause according to the union contract.”
Court documents, though, reveal Winger lost his job because of questions about his ability to tell the truth.
Winger at the time said his firing was related to an incident with former Mayor Carl Scharff. Winger on Feb. 26, 2013, cited the mayor for open container. He confronted Scharff and a female passenger in a Chevrolet S10 pickup, and Winger’s citation notes cans of beer.
Scharff pleaded not guilty, and his attorney, Thomas Frerichs of Waterloo, filed a notice he would use a defense of entrapment.
County Attorney Shawn Harden subsequently asked the court to dismiss the case because of insufficient evidence. The city let Winger go three days later.
Winger appealed to his union, and his case went to arbitration. According to Winger, he won and was re-instated as an Independence police officer Dec. 26.
While he remains a certified peace officer, Winger said he is not working, not wearing a uniform and not getting paid by Independence.
“Yes, I think that would be the most accurate way to describe it,” Winger said.
“I think it would be wise of me to not say why at this point,” he added.
Winger last week reiterated his claim the termination was linked to citing former Mayor Scharff for open container. But Winger said he could not remember particulars about alleged lies.
“I believe that was alleged in the termination that we went to arbitration for — which we won and I was re-instated,” Winger said.
“Nobody’s ever questioned my integrity before in my life,” Winger added.
Mayor Bonita Davis confirmed Winger was reinstated, but said the officer has been on unpaid administrative leave since.
Winger described the situation as ongoing, and said his union is still negotiating with the city, a point Davis confirmed. Winger said when the case will be resolved isn’t clear.
“I don’t know. It’s been six months, and it still isn’t. I would have expected it to be done, and it is not,” he said.
History
According to court documents in an unrelated case, Winger in September 2012 arrested Jeffery Conrad for domestic abuse assault and child endangerment. Conrad later admitted slapping or hitting Megan Sherrets’ forearm while she held onto the couple’s two young sons.
Assistant Buchanan County Attorney Jenalee Zaputil in June 2013, however, filed a notice of “potentially exculpatory evidence,” informing the court and Conrad’s defense attorney about Winger. Zaputil said she had been informed “officer Winger’s employment with the Independence Police Department was terminated following an internal investigation in which his veracity was at issue.” Zaputil added the information “may be relevant to the defense” of Conrad.
Three days later Zaputil removed Winger as one of her potential witnesses in Conrad’s case.
Winger said other of his arrests were affected because he got fired for allegedly lying, a potential liability on the witness stand. Zaputil confirmed the Buchanan County Attorney’s Office issued notices of potentially exculpatory evidence in perhaps 10 other cases because of Winger. The number might have been higher, according to Zaputil, but Winger was on disability leave for an extended period and therefore not involved in as many cases.
Winger was involved in a number of controversial incidents during his time with the police department. In 2007, about 150 people at a council meeting demanded Winger resign. Some alleged he was harassing and targeting certain individuals. A subsequent review by the then city attorney cleared Winger of wrongdoing, however.
In a separate incident, Charity Weinschenk sued the city and Winger after a crash involving Winger’s squad car and Weinschenk’s Jeep. The incident happened in July 2011, and the Iowa State Patrol cited Winger for having an expired driver’s license.
The city later settled with Weinschenk, agreeing to pay slightly more than $52,500. In exchange, Weinschenk released the city from further liability.
The settlement followed a lengthy legal debate about whether the city had to turn over Winger’s entire personnel file. Weinschenk’s attorneys noted the city gave up his early information but resisted an effort to get at later documents about his termination.
Attorneys in the lawsuit noted Winger’s termination was connected to a citation issued on Feb. 26, 2013, the night former Mayor Scharff was cited for open container. Their court documents, however, do not specify what the link is.
Judge Bradley Harris ultimately ruled the city had to surrender all of Winger’s information.
The largest controversy started in November 2012 after Winger and other officers arrested former Scharff for public intoxication, harassment of a public official and interference with official acts. A security camera subsequently captured Scharff promising consequences for “Wingnut.”
Scharff pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and made a public apology. He later lost a bid for re-election.
According to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, Winger remains a certified police officer in Iowa. The agency’s records show he is listed as a part-time officer in Jesup, but that department’s police chief, Rick Deitrick, said Winger resigned about a year ago because of events in Independence. Winger had helped the Jesup force since 2005.
Winger established Wingman Training in 2011 and provides self-defense and gun safety instruction. He founded Wingman Transport in 2013 in Independence. His company offers two customized party buses, Money Pit and Paddy Wagon. Money Pit, for instance, has a dance floor with two rotating dance poles, six speakers and LED light show and “blacked-out windows for privacy.”