Towah

On Tuesday morning, the Marshalltown Police Department issued a press release about a July 4 incident during which an officer drove toward an armed suspect in a squad car and struck him before the suspect was taken to the local UnityPoint hospital and later arrested.

At 5:11 a.m. that day, officers responded to a call for service in the 1000 block of Washington Street and located a man they believed to have been involved in an assault walking westbound on the 1100 block of Washington Street. When an officer turned their emergency lights on in an attempt to talk to the man, later identified as 22-year-old Zannah Towah of Marshalltown, he continued walking. Shortly thereafter, he stopped and turned toward the officer while allegedly displaying a handgun, and the officer subsequently drove into Towah and disarmed him.

Other officers arrived, and Towah was taken to the UnityPoint Hospital, treated for minor injuries, and released to the Marshall County Jail. The officers involved were not injured, and the patrol vehicle sustained minimal damage.

Due to the overall circumstances of the arrest, the MPD was assisted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa State Patrol. Marshall County Attorney Jordan Gaffney provided a review of the incident and indicated that the Officer’s use of force under the circumstances was “legally justified under Iowa law.”

Towah was charged with assault on persons engaged in certain occupations — a Class D felony — and domestic abuse assault with intent or displaying a weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor.

The incident remains under investigation.