Des Moines police officer arrested in SD, charged with assaulting man during February arrest


DES MOINES, Iowa — A former Des Moines police officer was arrested Thursday on charges he used excessive force during an arrest in February.
Colin Boone was indicted Tuesday. Court records show the formal charge is deprivation of rights under color of law, which is a violation of the constitutional right citizens have against unreasonable force by police.
Boone was arrested Thursday morning in South Dakota. An arraignment was set for Jan. 3 in Council Bluffs. He did not yet have an attorney assigned to his case.
A grand jury indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Des Moines alleges Boone kicked a man causing an injury on Feb. 19. The charge carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Boone was fired May 2 for inappropriate use of force, said Des Moines police spokesman Jason Halifax. Boone had worked for the department since June 2000.
Halifax said Boone responded to a call on Feb. 19 when a car had crashed into a concrete wall in Des Moines.
The driver, Orville Hill, initially refused to leave his car and was removed by officers. Reports said he resisted and kicked another officer several times. A police department review found that Boone kicked Hill in the head.
The Des Moines Register reported in May that Boone was one six officers awarded a Medal of Valor in 2011 for pulling several teens out of a burning car after a crash. But that same year, he was sued over a 2009 incident of reported excessive force involving a woman he was arresting for drunken driving. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

U.S. Attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt said in a statement Boone's arrest on Thursday was the result of an FBI investigation.