Iowa State University Police Department (ISUPD) Chief Michael Newton addressed faculty regarding the use of force by an officer that resulted in an injured Iowa State student during a traffic stop in August. 

Newton was asked by history professor Brian Behnken, about the use of force by ISUPD Officer Frankie Contreras, which resulted in the injury of former Iowa State student Dariq Myles. 

Behnken, who teaches about civil rights and race relations, asked Newton how an incident like this could have happened and said it seemed like “a classic case of ego policing.” 

“I hear what you’re saying, and this could’ve been prevented absolutely by the officer,” Newton said. “[Officers’] interactions and their behaviors can escalate a case. That is 100% what happened here.” 

Newton reiterated that he could not comment on personnel affairs due to state law. He also mentioned a video showing Contreras saying he could have handled the situation differently.  

“State law prohibits me from talking about what I’ve done with the officer and what actions we’ve taken,” Newton said. “The officer freely admitted that night on video that, ‘Man, I could have handled that better. I could have done things better.’”

In a previous statement sent to the Daily, Newton stated the review conducted by ISUPD acknowledged that Contreras “could have used better de-escalation techniques during the traffic stop.” 

In a prior interview with the Daily, Newton was asked about the body cam video showing the incident.

“A video only shows you certain dimensions,” Newton previously said. “You don’t know all those factors that go in, so sometimes it can be misleading when you see things from different perspectives and angles.”

Newton said he was attending the Faculty Senate meeting to share more about policing at Iowa State following the traffic stop that occurred in August.

“It’s not the type of policing I want to see here,” Newton said Tuesday. “That’s not the type of policing that we want.” 

Use of force, or response to resistance, was used by ISUPD officers in 12 of 736, or 1.63%, of arrests in 2023, according to ISUPD data. The department responded to nearly 34,000 calls for service in 2023.