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Iowa City Man Killed in Undercover Drug Operation

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #747)

Members of the Johnson County Drug Task Force conducting an undercover operation at a run-down trailer park just outside the Iowa City city limits shot and killed one man and wounded another last Thursday evening. Ivan Carl Hardemon, 24, becomes the 43rd person to die in US domestic drug law operations so far this year.

Police are releasing few details of what actually happened, but a Department of Public Safety press release said two state agents with the Division of Narcotics Enforcement assigned to the task force were conducting an undercover operation at a trailer in the park when "an altercation ensued and shots were fired," leaving Hardemon dead and another man, Demarco Dudley, wounded.

The passive-voice press release very carefully does not say whether Hardemon or Dudley fired shots, nor does it make any mention of weapons or drugs recovered at the scene. Police said they would not release more information until their investigation is completed.

The shooting left neighbors uneasy. Patty Krueger, who lives nearby, told the Iowa City Press-Citizen she no longer felt safe in the neighborhood.

"I have kids at home, I don't like the fact that the neighborhood's been disrupted like this," Krueger said. "I've felt safe out here for the last few years and now it doesn't seem like it's safe anymore."

Update: In a later report, undercover police said Hardemon and Dudley attempted to rip them off when they showed up with a large sum of money to buy drugs and gunfire was exchanged.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

sicntired (not verified)

The woman interviewed claims that she no longer feels safe.Perhaps she was just given a wake up call.Many people are of the opinion that if it doesn't affect them then it just doesn't matter.When the gang war was in full swing in Vancouver and it's many suburbs a lot of people were of the same opinion.Then the bullets began to fly in any and every direction.It's not a good thing to have the violence affecting people that have no involvement but it does seem to wake everyone up to the fact that real people are dying real deaths.People in the drug world are just people,like everyone else.The first time you get shot at or just have a gun in your face is frightening.Like anything else,each time it gets easier and soon is just another thing to deal with.This is the human experience.The violence is not caused by the effect of the drugs.It is the result of the power and money that their prohibition brings to the picture.This is an ever escalating situation and it will only continue to get worse with each passing year.The harsher the way the law is applied the harsher the people that are involved in the traffick.This is also human nature and anyone that's been involved in the scene for any length of time will tell you the exact same thing.Just look at Mexico and what has happened since the army got involved.That can easily be the story in the US as well.There is already talk on some right wing sites about asking the army to take over.It has happened on the border already and there is already talk of the violence spilling over.Is it a response to the army being present or is it the other way round?

Tue, 08/21/2012 - 12:16am Permalink
Loretta Nall (not verified)

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/08/man_killed_by_hueytown_police.html#incart_river_default Details are scant a this point. Nothing about what circumstances led to the undercover officers bing in the area, what drugs the decedent might have been in possession of or why cops open fire.
Thu, 08/23/2012 - 1:04pm Permalink
Loretta Nall (not verified)

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/08/man_killed_by_hueytown_police.html#incart_river_default Details are scant a this point. Nothing about what circumstances led to the undercover officers being in the area, what drugs the decedent might have been in possession of or why cops opened fire.
Thu, 08/23/2012 - 1:06pm Permalink

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