An Iowa police officer facing growing claims of misconduct has resigned, two weeks after the release of a video that showed him striking a motorcyclist during a 2017 traffic stop.
Robert Smith resigned Monday after a closed City Council meeting in Durant. Smith was one of three full-time officers in the town of 1,800.
Durant hired Smith last year after he resigned from the Iowa State Patrol following an investigation into his arrest of Bryce Yakish.
Problems in Smith’s past came to the public’s attention after Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington banned Smith and other Durant officers from bringing suspects to his jail in May. Wethington said he couldn’t vouch for their credibility.
Video obtained by The Associated Press shows Smith pointed his gun at Yakish and knocked him down.
