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Officers justified in shooting of Wall Lake man

Investigation is complete

The Iowa State Patrol trooper and Calhoun County sheriff’s deputy who fired their weapons at a Wall Lake man on Dec. 31, 2018, were justified, according to a review of the fatal shooting by the Webster County attorney’s office that was released Thursday.

Matthew Hurley, 45, was killed by a bullet fired from the gun of Sgt. Aaron Smidt, of the Iowa State Patrol, according to an analysis by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations criminalistics laboratory.

Chase Goodman, a Calhoun County sheriff’s deputy, also fired at Hurley.

“Sgt. Aaron Smidt and Deputy Chase Goodman were each justified in the use of reasonable force, including deadly force, in that each reasonably believed that such force was necessary to defend himself or another from an actual or imminent use of unlawful force by Matthew Thomas Hurley, in accordance with Iowa Code 704.3,” the county attorney’s report states.

On Dec. 31, Hurley was pursued by officers following a call about a domestic disturbance just outside of Fort Dodge at a residence near the Webster County Fairgrounds, 22770 Old Highway 169.

Hurley was driving a Chevrolet Lumina.

Sgt. Tony Walter, of the Webster County Sheriff’s Department, was the first officer to pursue Hurley’s vehicle.

After activating his patrol vehicle’s emergency lights on U.S. Highway 169, approaching U.S. Highway 20, Walter reported that Hurley was not speeding up, but was not stopping.

About 10 minutes later, Walter said Hurley was heading in the direction of Calhoun County, traveling north on Kansas Avenue.

Two minutes later, Hurley turned his vehicle eastbound on 300th Street.

Walter asked that stop sticks be used at the intersection of 300th Street and U.S. Highway 169.

A short time later, Walter reported that Hurley had fired a weapon from his vehicle at the pursuing officers.

The use of stop sticks at that intersection was unsuccessful, according to the report.

Later in the pursuit, Walter reported Hurley had turned southbound on Oak Avenue toward Iowa Highway 175.

Smidt and Goodman arrived at the intersection of Oak Avenue and Iowa Highway 175 in separate vehicles.

They set up a road block and took up tactical positions.

Seconds before Hurley got to that intersection, Walter reported that Hurley had fired more shots out of the window.

According to the attorney’s office, video and audio recordings from the patrol vehicles captured the sound of multiple rounds being fired from Hurley’s vehicle as it approached Smidt and Goodman.

When Hurley advanced toward the Iowa Highway 175 intersection, Smidt and Goodman each fired multiple rounds at Hurley’s vehicle.

His vehicle passed through the space between Smidt and Goodman’s patrol vehicles, crossed Iowa Highway 175 and turned east off the roadway into a field, where it came to a stop.

Hurley was later found dead inside the vehicle with a gunshot wound to his head.

According to the reports, he was holding a PMC 9mm Luger pistol with his finger still on the trigger.

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