City of Des Moines v. Civil Service Commission

NEUMAN, Justice.

Ron White, a seventeen-year veteran of the Des Moines Police Department, was fired after evidence seized in a drug raid turned up missing. Based on the record subsequently made in White’s appeal, the Civil Service Commission found insufficient evidence to sustain the police chiefs termination order. The City appealed to the district court in accordance with Iowa Code section 400.27 (1991). Upon its de novo review, the court affirmed the commission’s findings and ordered White’s reinstatement. On the City’s appeal to this court, we affirm.

The facts are largely undisputed. In…