Officer Fired After Catching Iowa Governor’s Vehicle Speeding

America’s constitutional republic is built on deep traditions like the rule of law and equal protection for all. However, governments tend to grant themselves additional powers over time, thus eroding these principles. As such, law enforcement officers and government officials who break the law are rarely held accountable.

Now-former Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Larry Hedlund stood for America’s founding principles on April 26th when he ordered subordinate troopers to pull over the Governor’s vehicle, which was clocked at 84 miles per hour. Within a week, Agent Hedlund lost his job. Check out local Iowa TV outlet KCCI’s coverage of the incident below, and let’s discuss the two sides of the story after the jump.

Law Enforcement Officers and Politicians Aren’t Above the Law

On April 26th, DCI agent Larry Hedlund saw a vehicle carrying the Governor moving at what he believed to be 90 miles per hour. He ordered troopers to pull over the SUV, which was officially clocked going 84 on a highway. Car 1, the Tahoe carrying the Iowa Governor, is not an emergency vehicle, nor was it responding to any type of emergency that would justify speeding at dangerous levels. The subordinate trooper that responded to Hedlund’s order ultimately refused to pull over the Governor’s vehicle after realizing who was on board.

As a result, Larry Hedlund filed a complaint within the department expressing his frustration with the double standard being applied to state vehicles. He also expressed disagreement with some recent policy changes related to record keeping. The day after he filed his complaint, he was fired. Larry Hedlund had been working to enforce the laws of his community for 25 years.

The Other Side of the Story

The state argues that Hedlund was insubordinate and harming the morale of the department. Allegedly, he was already under investigation for misconduct prior to April 26th, and the incident with the Governor’s vehicle was just an unrelated, extremely convenient coincidence. However, what that misconduct might have been is anyone’s guess, because the state won’t release the records pertaining to the investigation.

The only alleged wrongdoing that the media has been able to identify thus far is the fact that he criticized his boss’ policy changes in a passionate email. Hedlund explained that law enforcement officers deal with high-stress situations such as murders of children and that passionate speech is normal among the law enforcement community. This is particularly reasonable when discussing policy changes that could affect officer safety or the equal enforcement of laws.

So far, the Iowa state government has failed to provide a satisfactory reason for the firing of Larry Hedlund after 25 years of service to the community. However, one can point to countless examples of law enforcement officers who, after being caught on camera committing police brutality, discharging weapons at innocent people for dubious reasons, or killing family pets when responding to non-emergency calls, were kept on the job and given a paid vacation until the media attention inevitably cooled down.

DCI agent Larry Hedlund was likely fired for trying to ticket the Governor’s vehicle and filing a complaint about law enforcement officers and politicians breaking the law. Since America is a nation built on the rule of law, rather than the arbitrary rule of men, Larry Hedlund’s rebellious actions were truly heroic. He was fired for his principles and may not be able to get another job in law enforcement. That’s a real shame, because he was clearly one of the best ones they had.

For doing the right thing, even when it severely harmed his career and livelihood, Larry Hedlund is unquestionably our Silver Circle Rebel of the Week.

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