Iowa AG Deems Cedar Rapids Police Shooting Justified

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office concluded that Cedar Rapids officers Ethan Lightner and Wes Wery were legally justified in fatally shooting Travis Kirk McDermott during a September 22, 2026, confrontation near Daniels Park. According to the state investigation, officers responding to a report of a man displaying a gun saw McDermott arguing with a woman while holding the weapon overhead; he refused commands to drop it, threatened officers and turned toward them. The report says McDermott lowered and pointed the weapon at officers, prompting Lightner and Wery to fire; McDermott died at the scene. The recovered weapon was a CO2-powered revolver, which witnesses believed to be a lethal firearm.