Former Des Moines Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice

DES MOINES, IA—On January 19, 2012, John Mailander, age 47, a former police officer with the Des Moines Police Department (DMPD), pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Des Moines, Iowa, to a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519 for falsifying a written report about a traffic stop that occurred on September 18, 2008, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, FBI Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun, and Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez.

Today in court, Mailander admitted that he intentionally endorsed a false police report concerning the traffic stop. Mailander faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Mailander had been charged, along with Mersed Dautovic, another former DMPD officer, with obstructing justice by falsifying a written report. Mersed Dautovic still faces a two-count indictment asserting a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519 for obstruction of justice and a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242 for the alleged use of excessive force during the traffic stop. An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Des Moines Resident Office of the Omaha Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the case is being jointly prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.