Iowa Attorney General’s Office Concludes Dallas County Deputies, Adair County Deputy, Adel Police Officer, and Stuart Police Officer Acted with Legal Justification in Shooting

DES MOINES—In a report issued today, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office has concluded that the April 15, 2025, fatal shooting of Vonderrick Rayford by law enforcement officers was legally justified.  

The Attorney General’s conclusion was based on a review and investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. The investigation found that at approximately 1:30 a.m. on April 15, a Stuart Police Department officer on a routine patrol saw a silver sedan followed by a dark SUV traveling approximately 98 miles an hour on Interstate 80. The officer and a nearby Dallas County deputy sheriff conducted simultaneous traffic stops. The sedan and deputy stopped first; the SUV and officer stopped further down the road. 

The silver sedan was driven by Rayford, who did not have the car’s registration or insurance information. Later investigation revealed that Rayford had previous convictions for assaulting a police officer and dangerous use of a weapon. It also revealed that he had stolen a handgun in Wisconsin (where there was a warrant for his arrest) and stolen the car in Colorado, where he had shot a woman in the head and shot at a responding police officer only a day and a half earlier. The deputy took Rayford’s license to his patrol car to run the information through dispatch.  

As the deputy was sitting in his patrol car, Rayford got out of the sedan and started shooting at him with the stolen handgun. The deputy retreated for cover behind his patrol car, and Rayford retreated to the front of the sedan. Upon hearing “shots fired” on the radio, the Stuart officer left the SUV (whose driver did not know Rayford and had been following him because his own speedometer was broken) and circled his patrol pickup behind the deputy’s patrol car to provide cover.  

Numerous other law-enforcement officers arrived in response to that call. An Adel Police Department officer approaching in the westbound lanes slowed when he was parallel to Rayford’s vehicle and shone a light toward it to locate him. Rayford stood up and fired multiple shots at him. The officer was not hit and positioned himself with the other officers behind the Stuart officer’s pickup.  

A deputy soon saw Rayford at the front passenger side of the sedan and ordered him to show his hands. Instead, Rayford ducked back in front of the car. Rayford then dashed across the interstate to, and then across, the median, shooting at the officers as he crossed the lanes. An officer returned fire, but it was unclear if Rayford was hit.  

Rayford ignored multiple commands to drop his gun, instead dropping to the ground. Rayford then stood up again with his hands up and the gun no longer visible.  

As officers approached the median, Rayford continued standing on the shoulder with his hands in the air. When the drone light was activated to light the scene, they could see the handgun laying at Rayford’s feet. Rayford ignored commands to “back up” and “get away from the gun.” When an officer was within a few feet of him, Rayford reached down, picked up the gun, and pointed it at the officers. Several officers fired on Rayford, and he died at the scene. 

During the entire incident, traffic continued to pass in both directions on the interstate. Both the Dallas County patrol car and the Stuart Police Department pickup were hit with multiple bullets.  

The report is issued under the Attorney General’s independent authority under Iowa Code section 13.12 to investigate or prosecute conduct of law enforcement that results in death. 

A copy of the report is available here.  

 

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For More Information:

Zach Hoffman | Chief of Staff

zach.hoffman@ag.iowa.gov