Video of suspect killed by Des Moines police, officer injured by friendly fire released

Editor's note: This story contains violent descriptions that may be disturbing to some readers.

Des Moines police released footage Thursday of a chase and shooting that killed a suspect and left an officer with a bullet wound in his back from friendly fire.

The release of the 72-minute body camera and dashcam footage from three officers follows Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham's and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird's declaration that the officers were justified in killing the suspect, Weston Dean Derby, 45, of Bellevue, Nebraska.

The officers shot Derby immediately after he pointed a black object at them. Officers later learned the object was a pellet gun "that was nearly indistinguishable from a semi-automatic handgun," Bird's report concluded .

More: Des Moines officers justified in fatal shooting of domestic dispute suspect, attorney says

Case starts with domestic dispute with ex-girlfriend

The case began July 29, when a woman applied for a restraining order against Derby, her ex-boyfriend. A judge granted the request that same day.

Hours later, at 3:30 a.m. on July 30, the woman called 911 and asked for police officers to come to her home on Southeast 35th Circle, a cul-de-sac in a southeast Des Moines neighborhood.

“This guy’s been harassing me for days,” she told a dispatcher. “He’s at my door again.”

Senior police officer Jesse Schneider arrived first, followed by officer Anthony Lampman at 3:41 a.m. Schneider left to patrol the neighborhood while Lampman spoke with the woman.

She described Derby as “a weirdo who used to be normal.” She said he showed up the day before, leaving a note in which he allegedly threatened to ruin her life and hire someone to kill the plants in her yard. Derby showed up to the woman's home several times that week, according to Bird's report.

The woman showed Lampman a video of Derby, captured by her doorbell video camera. She said Derby mumbled and told her not to call the police. She gave Lampman a copy of her restraining order and told the officer she thought Derby was on drugs.

“He can’t be far,” she said. “If you can just find him and serve him, I don’t know if you can get him for harassment at this point. To me, this is like, I don’t know. Why would you keep showing up at my door like a crazy person?”

Lampman advised the woman to buy a gun.

“They’re always helpful,” he said. “Especially when you’re dealing with creeps.”

'Shots fired' after police chase suspect in southeast Des Moines

At 3:53 a.m., Schneider spotted a driver steering an SUV through the neighborhood. Schneider turned on his police lights, and Derby accelerated away.

“I think I found my guy,” Schneider said into his radio.

The car Derby drove had been reported stolen in Council Bluffs a couple of days earlier, according to Bird's report. The plates on the vehicle, meanwhile, had been lifted from a separate car at a Days Inn in West Des Moines.

Lampman joined the chase. In the rain, the cars reached Army Post Road. At 3:58 a.m., Derby slid off the road, stopping in a field of corn and tall weeds. The officers exited their cars and ran toward Derby, Schneider in front of Lampman in the dark.

The SUV's headlights lit Schneider and Derby. Derby carried an object.

“Get on the f---ing ground,” Schneider yelled, pointing his gun at Derby. “Get on the f---ing ground.”

“Don’t touch me,” Derby yelled back. “I’ll f---ing shoot myself. I’ll point the gun at you. … Leave me alone.”

Derby lifted the object against his temple. He walked backward, facing the officers. The officers were only a few feet from Derby at that point.

“Drop it,” Schneider yelled. “Drop the gun. Drop it. Drop the gun.”

Derby extended his arms and pointed the gun at Schneider. Schneider and Lampman fired shots, with Lampman behind Schneider. Derby turned away and collapsed on the ground. Schneider turned toward Lampman. He clutched his chest and grunted.

“I’m hit,” Schneider said while Derby screamed behind him. “I’m hit.”

“Shots fired,” Lampman said on his radio. “Shots fired. Where you hit? Where you hit?”

“I’m hit in the chest,” Schneider said.

“Are you good?” Lampman asked. “Partner, are you good?”

“Ambulance,” Schneider responded.

Suspect dies at the scene, officer injured

Other officers reached the field, where Derby lie. Three officers aided Schneider, his shirt ripped open.

Lampman and another officer inspected Derby, who received CPR from officers and medics. Medics also treated Schneider.

The State of Iowa Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed Derby died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds, according to Bird's report.

“Where’s the gun?” Lampman said. “Find the gun. I seen it smoking.”

He pointed to the grass next to Derby’s left foot.

“The smoke was coming from over here,” he said. “It’s right here. It’s right here. Gun’s right here.”

The officers found the weapon.

“A fake gun,” the other officer said. Investigators later identified the object as pellet gun, according to Bird's report.

“Where was Schneider hit at?” Lampman asked, before walking over to Schneider, still receiving aid.

“Schneider,” Lampman said, “are you OK? I need you to talk to me, OK.”

“I’m good, bro,” Schneider said, lying on his back.

Two minutes later, after officers loaded Schneider into an ambulance, Lampman paced the field and road, panting.

“I think I hit Schneider, though,” he said to another officer.

According to Des Moines police, Lampman shot Schneider in the back and the bullet exited his chest. It appeared that Schneider may have moved into a position in front of Lampman as he was retreating during the shooting, spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek told the Register the day of the shooting.

Doctors released him from the hospital a week later. Earlier this week, Des Moines police said Schneider reached a milestone in his recovery: he went back to the gym.

Derby shows up multiple times unannounced to the woman's home in the days leading up to shooting

The attorney general's report describes Derby as volatile in the days before the shooting.

The ex-girlfriend told police that she dated Derby in 2016 when they lived in Omaha, Nebraska. She said he was abusive, grabbing her arms hard enough to leave bruises, throwing objects at her and screaming in her face, according to Bird's report. She obtained a restraining order against him in 2018.

He violated that protection order several years ago, Bird's report states, and the woman moved to Iowa when the order expired.

The two stopped speaking in 2021. But on July 26, the woman said, Derby showed up to her front door unannounced. She said he confronted her in her garage when she was about to drive to work.

She said he tried to grab her arm. She resisted. He told her he wanted to speak with her. She said she wasn't interested. She threatened to call the police if he didn't leave.

From September: 2 Des Moines police officers shot – one in the head – & suspect killed after morning chase

She told investigators that the expression on Derby's face struck her, as if something was "missing," according to Bird's report. Derby left when the woman threatened to call 911. But he returned five times that night, according to the report.

During one visit, Derby left a plant and a letter threatening to drown an animal in a lake if she didn't meet him at a designated time and place.

According to Bird's report, Derby has previously "attacked an officer with the intent to get the officer to shoot him," though it does not go into detail. Police had previously arrested him for possession of methamphetamine, making terroristic threats, driving while intoxicated and violating a protective order. Officers also had charged him with disorderly conduct.

He was on probation when Schneider and Lampman shot him in July.

Attempts to reach Derby's family were unsuccessful. Through police, the woman declined to speak with the media.

Both officers remain on paid administrative assignment, per police protocol in on-duty critical or traumatic incidents, according to Parizek. The Des Moines Police Department will convene a shooting review committee before deciding whether to close the case.

Tyler Jett is an investigative reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on X at @LetsJett. He also accepts encrypted messages at tjett@proton.me.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Video of suspect killed by Des Moines police, officer injured by friendly fire released