Cedar Rapids police officer won't be charged in crash

CEDAR RAPIDS - No charges will be filed in a crash that involved a Cedar Rapids police officer this month, officials said Monday.

Officer Phillip Meyer was searching for an accident on the morning of Jan. 3 when he turned into the path of an oncoming car at Sixth Street and Eighth Avenue SW. A passenger in the sedan suffered a scrape on his nose, but the officer, the sedan's driver and two young children in her back seat were not hurt.

Video from Meyer's patrol car released to The Gazette shows him heading south and entering the intersection as the light turns yellow. A large cargo van is opposite him in the turning lane. As Meyer begins to turn left onto Eighth Avenue SW, a northbound car appears.

Meyer hits the brakes but is not able to avoid the white sedan, striking it in the front fender on the driver's side. The sedan jumps the curb, runs over a traffic sign and stops on a sidewalk.

Both vehicles were totaled, according to a police report.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin, a police spokeswoman, said Meyer did not see the oncoming car because the cargo van in the turning lane was obstructing his view. She said Meyer did fail to yield, but “there was the appearance (that the other car) was exceeding the speed limit.”

Upon reviewing the dash camera footage, investigators concluded no one would be charged in the case. Hamblin said it is common for there to be no charges in a two-vehicle crash where both drivers are at fault. The issue is usually handled by insurance carriers, she said.

The driver of the white sedan, Muriel Gordon, 27, of Cedar Rapids, said Monday that the city had covered her costs from the accident in full. In a brief interview, she said she felt the outcome was fair.

Yvonne Aubrey of the city's risk management department said insurance claim details about the crash would not be released.

“It's a matter of privacy for the city,” she said.

Three days before Meyer's crash, Officer Brandon Bosenberg was responding to a police chase when he crashed into a vehicle on First Avenue East that was stopped at a stoplight. Hamblin said an investigation was still under way in that case.