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Jurors told judge they could not reach unanimous verdict

CEDAR RAPIDS — A federal judge declared a mistrial Friday after a jury reported it couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of a former state trooper charged with using unreasonable force against a Davenport motorcyclist during a traffic stop in 2017.

The jury began deliberating the charges against Robert James Smith around 10:30 a.m. Thursday and went home about 5 p.m. without a verdict, according to court documents. They returned 8:30 a.m. Friday and sent two questions to the court.

One question asked for clarification regarding an element of the crime — Smith was charged with deprivation of rights under color of law — use of unreasonable force that causes bodily injury.

The jurors asked if they needed to determine that a willful act was committed with a “bad purpose or improper motive,” which is laid out in one of the jury instructions.

U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams sent a note back and said the element of the crime requires proof that the defendant acted willfully. “Willfully” is defined as proof that the defendant acted with a “bad purpose or improper” motive to disobey or disregard the law. He also asked the jurors to continue deliberations to see if they could reach a verdict.

The jury then sent a second note after 10 a.m. that “we have decided as a group that we cannot reach an unanimous decision or verdict.”

Williams declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury.

There is no information in court records about whether federal prosecutors will retry Smith.

Smith is the first law enforcement officer charged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa in years, according to prosecutors.

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During the four day trial, Smith testified he was concerned the motorcyclist, Bryce Yakish, then 20, was attempting to flee because of his speed, that his motorcycle had no plates, and how and where the cyclist finally pulled over.

Smith, who was terminated from the Iowa State Patrol following an internal investigation of the arrest and allowed to retire in 2018, said Yakish seemed to be fleeing from him Sept. 25, 2017, after he exited Interstate 80 at West Liberty. Smith said he had been parked in the median 3 miles from the exit, running radar when Yakish sped by him at 84 mph.

Yakish ran a stop sign at the exit ramp, which Smith viewed as Yakish continuing the chase. But then Yakish turned into the driveway of a gas station.

A video of the incident was shown to the jury throughout the trial. It showed Yakish getting off his motorcycle and raising his hands as Smith was coming at him with his gun pulled.

Smith struck the right front of Yakish’s helmet with his left hand — an “open palm strike,” which officers are trained to use as a defensive tactic if someone is resisting and not being compliant. Yakish’s head snapped back, and he fell backward onto his motorcycle, which also fell over.

Smith said after Yakish pulled over, he veered his cycle to the left, which Smith took as Yakish trying to drive around his squad car.

Smith got out of his vehicle and approached Yakish with his gun drawn because he had safety concerns. He admitted he didn’t give any commands as he approached.

“It wasn’t a decision. It was a reaction,” Smith testified.

Smith, now a semi-trailer truck driver, said he didn’t know who Yakish was at the time and pointed his gun at Yakish because he thought he might run away after getting off his motorcycle.

On cross-examination, Smith admitted he was aware of departmental pursuit and use-of-force policies. He also admitted that he didn’t fill out the portion on the incident report to indicate use of force.

Yakish, now 25, testified he didn’t see Smith until he pulled off to go the gas station and then saw the lights and sirens on the trooper’s vehicle. Yakish said he motioned with his left hand — taking if off the clutch — where he was going to stop.

Yakish said after he got off his motorcycle, he saw the trooper walking quickly toward him — with a gun pointed.

“I was scared,” Yakish testified.

Yakish said he didn’t remember if Smith said anything to him before Smith hit him on the right front of his helmet, knocking him down.

Smith pulled him up and took him down on the ground — face-down — and put his knee on his neck and handcuffed his hands behind his back, Yakish testified.

Smith went through his backpack after Yakish was placed in the squad car. Yakish said the backpack contained clothes and books. Also in the backpack was Yakish’s motorcycle license plates, which he hadn’t put on yet, saying he’d gotten the motorcycle earlier that month.

Yakish admitted to Smith he was speeding, but said he wasn’t eluding as Smith charged.

Smith, during his testimony, admitted that he didn’t turn on his lights and sirens right away because he had to catch up to Yakish. Smith said he reached speeds over 100 mph during the pursuit.

Two of Smith’s former supervisors also testified they reviewed his report and dashcam video and took it up the command chain because Smith was holding his handgun and used an open palm strike on a compliant motorist.

In the video, Smith doesn’t activate his lights and sirens until he takes the West Liberty exit, which is necessary if an officer is in pursuit and intends to arrest someone for eluding, said Capt. Randall Jones, who is now with the new Iowa State Fair Police Department.

In the video, Jones said Smith tells the dispatcher he’s not in a pursuit but is trying to catch up with a motorist.

Smith, in his report of the arrest, said he “inadvertently” hit Yakish’s helmet as he tried to grab him. But Jones said that didn’t match with the video, which he said shows the amount of force Smith used as Yakish’s head snapped back upon impact.

Jones said Yakish pulled over when he realized Smith was behind him. Yakish was compliant, and there was no reason for force. Smith didn’t give any verbal commands, as he should have, and then used an open palm strike on someone not resisting, Jones said.

A use-of-force and other police practices expert witness for the prosecution also testified Smith’s actions were not reasonable in this situation because Yakish was compliant.

Chet Epperson, a retired Rockford, Ill., police chief and owner of a consultant company, AGR Police Practice Group, in Rockford, testified that Yakish was compliant when he stopped. He used his right turn signal when he exited the ramp, he put down the cycle’s kickstand, turned off the motorcycle, got off in slow manner and showed no resistance.

A defense expert, Robert C. Willis, a retired Wisconsin police officer and now a consultant on police practices, testified Smith’s use of force was “objectively reasonable to maintain or gain control of an out-of-control“ situation.

The situation was concerning, he said, because Yakish was directing where he would stop and the officer should maintain the advantage and choose where the driver pulls over. The Yakish situation, he said, would “raise an officer’s guard.”

Yakish sued the department and Smith for assaulting and falsely arresting him. The Iowa State Appeal Board awarded him a $225,000 settlement in March 2021.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com

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