Cedar Rapids police officer fired in trespassing case, will appeal

A Cedar Rapids police officer convicted of trespassing last month has been fired.

Robyn Obadal, 37, was arrested when she arrived for work July 28, accused of releasing two dogs from a kennel behind a vacant house at 1201 10th St. NW. A judge found her guilty of trespassing, a simple misdemeanor, on Nov. 7 and she was fined $100.

Police Chief Greg Graham on Friday confirmed that Obadal was terminated. She had spent her entire 14-year career in Cedar Rapids.

“We had an administrative hearing, and she was terminated later that day,” Graham said. “She has appealed her termination through the Civil Service Commission, and a date for that hearing has not been set.”

Obadal declined to comment when contacted Thursday by SourceMedia Group.

During a three-hour court hearing, a neighbor testified she lent Obadal a screwdriver the morning of July 23. Obadal apparently used the tool to force open the kennel to release a German shepherd and pit bull owned by Chad Ramey.

The dogs were reported missing that afternoon. They were found nearby on Ellis Boulevard NW the next day.

In an interview with SourceMedia Group after her arrest, Obadal said she was concerned about the living conditions of the dogs, but denied letting them out. She claimed she found the dogs running loose and turned them over to an unidentified man, never found, who said he knew their owner.

In making his ruling, Magistrate Marty Hagge acknowledged neighbors' concerns about the dogs and said their living quarters in the 50-square foot pen were “less than ideal.” Ramey testified that he visited and fed the dogs daily, but neighbors said they frequently escaped and often disturbed them with their barking.

According to Hagge's findings, Obadal took photos of the dogs' living conditions the previous week and forwarded them to Animal Control. No action was taken, and when Obadal saw the dogs there again, “she decided to remove the dogs on her own,” Hagge wrote.

Hagge ruled Obadal “was not acting within the scope of her duties” when she entered the property, failing to advise dispatchers of her location.

“If she were truly acting in what she perceived to be the best interests of the dogs, then it is nonsensical for her not to have taken the dogs to Animal Control,” Hagge wrote. “Obadal's explanation for her actions is entirely inconsistent.”