DCI Report on 324 Main Street Case Number 2023014262 Version 1 Cover Page.png
The watchers are no longer being watched by the people. At least in Scott County, Iowa, that is.
The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) asserted its rights as the custodian of its report materials its investigators generated regarding the partial collapse of the Davenport building at 324 Main Street and on May 30, 2025, just two days past the two-year anniversary of the tragedy, when it released portions of its report. Three apartment residents perished in the collapse and one woman had to have her leg amputated amidst the rubble.
Heretofore, the report which was completed in June 2024 had only been provided to Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham. Ms. Cunningham very publicly stated that she saw no indictable offenses in the full report and that despite the public's demand to release the report she would not do so. When concerned citizens and Davenport natives Ezra Sidran and Jon Uhl along with Iowa Freedom of Information Council director Randy Evans and KWQC TV-6 filed FOIA requests for said report, Cunningham even went so far as to file a motion with the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) asserting it was her office that was the custodian of the documents in the DCI report and attempted to block the IPIB from compelling its release. Ultimately, the Iowa Public Safety board that governs DCI made the decision after Sidran virtually, and Uhl physically appeared before said board to release their redacted version of the report. Readers can download the Case Report (redacted) as well as 2.2 gigabytes of associated exhibits for themselves at RCReader.com/y/dci-324-main.
In February 2024, we published a cover story written by Ezra Sidran with an extensively documented timeline leading up to the May 28, 2023 partial building collapse, with receipts including an April 2023 HUD Inspection Checklist and over $4MM of city expenditures. That and additional subsequent and related coverage is available at RCReader.com/tags/324-main-street.
Sidran did the public yet another favor by poring over the exhibits and highlighting what he considers to be important information contained in the previously super-secret DCI report. Some of those items are printed here below. Sidran is fairly prolific on Facebook with even more analysis and excerpts. Local news outlets have periodically been reporting on various items found in the report such as one alderman attempting to sell surveillance video to national media, and how the building owner Andrew Wold ran from investigators with a warrant for his cell phones. There will undoubtedly be more parsing of the disclosed investigation details in the coming weeks.
Sidran spoke during public with business at the Davenport City Council meeting on May 28, 2025 and before being cut off by Mayor Matson at three minutes rather than the standard five-minute allotment per speaker, summarized what the problem is very succinctly:
“After submitting dozens of FOIAs, being sued by the city of Davenport – and winning in court – and two years of investigations, I can now state that I know the reason for the collapse of 324 Main Street, the greatest disaster in the history of the city of Davenport. It was caused by the incompetence, corruption, and cronyism of Davenport city staff. When 324 Main Street collapsed, there were 74 open housing violations, two orders to vacate, and an order from the Fire Marshall that it was a public hazard. Why was this ignored? Because of incompetence, corruption, and cronyism of Davenport city staff.
“Five HUD inspection reports were falsified by city staff for 324 Main Street. I know who did it. I have their names. People were placed into a building that had been ordered to be vacated. Why? Because of incompetence, corruption, and cronyism of Davenport city staff.
“The city is being sued for millions of dollars because of the collapse of the HESCO barriers and the flooding of downtown Davenport. The competent former Corps of Engineers colonel who knew how to construct tall HESCO barriers was fired and city staff was clueless. Why? Because of incompetence, corruption, and cronyism of Davenport city staff.”
I Cannot Answer That Question
When I spoke with county attorney Cunningham regarding the DCI report prior to its release she articulated very effectively why she was not going to bring any criminal charges against Andrew Wold. In her view, the report did not allege nor provide evidence that Wold was in the conduct of a crime when the collapse occurred. As such even an involuntary manslaughter charge would not be forthcoming. I stated to Cunningham that I will give her the benefit of the doubt, and set Wold aside. “Does the report contain evidence that any city staff were in the conduct of a crime when the building partially collapsed?” Her answer to me was, “I cannot answer that question.”
Well, perhaps the public's access to the DCI report will answer that question. Yet to be seen. However, the real problem is even if the report does provide such a predicate for a criminal charge, who is going to prosecute it? Cunningham has been clear many times she is not going to. And, her office is swamped with murder and rape and other violent crime hearings and trials.
So, what is a concerned citizenry to do when government doesn't govern itself? Sue in civil court is knee-jerk reaction, and that costs lots of money and requires a lot of resources. The answer is the people of Scott County must have access to the annually seated and sworn in county grand jury. I and many other concerned citizens over the last dozen years have personally been present in the court room when said county grand juries have been empaneled and sworn in for their year of service. And the clerk of the court dutifully provided us and the public who asked a list of those grand jurors with their contact information. That is, until 2022, when Kelly Cunningham replaced the longtime serving county attorney Mike Walton and Brenna Bird replaced the longest serving attorney general, Tom Miller. After the red wave hit Iowa, suddenly we the people were told that the identities of the county grand jury is confidential. “In response to your public records request, we are withholding the list of grand jurors as confidential for the reasons that include, but are not limited to, Iowa Code section 22.7(18) and the 2017 changes to Iowa Code Chapter 607A.”
Last year, when I asked the court administrator if there was a county grand jury even empaneled, and how can I access them if I have a matter to bring before them, the response was, “I cannot answer that question.” I am currently engaged with the Iowa Freedom of Information Council to determine possible litigation options to reverse this authoritarian stance. That's just more lawfare, which costs time and money.
Concerned citizen Jon Uhl is currently suing the city over alleged fraud in the building inspections division. He has a Facebook page called Whistle Davenport and his local watchdog and FOIA requests are persistent and laudable. I have told him that with the 324 Main Street tragedy as a template for how government is not going to police itself, the same is likely to happen with his case as well.
Nothing is going to happen in holding our local government accountable until the peoples' access to the county grand jury is restored. Even if we have the name of all seven grand jurors, there's no guarantee that five of the seven will have enough fortitude to convene a quorum and hear concerned citizens' testimony and request for a criminal indictment. Then due process can begin and the accused must be proven guilty by a prosecutor before a petit jury. But if we cannot access them, we will never know, will we? The local county grand jury is a muscle that needs exercised. This muscle is currently atrophied and dying. Which is what those in government who have actions to hide wish to happen. If you are a grand juror and are reading this, please contact me or Jon Uhl or Ezra Sidran. Yes, we have loads of corruption right here in River City. And unless the watchers know they are being watched, the corruption will continue to grow without any accountability.
Madison and Scalia Are Correct
On June 8, 1789 James Madison presented Amendments to the Constitution, which was the origin of the Bill of Rights being adopted eventually throughout all the several states. [Founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-12-02-0126] In this presentation, Madison stated, “The trial of all crimes (except in cases of impeachments, and cases arising in the land or naval forces, or the militia when on actual service in time of war or public danger) shall be by an impartial jury of freeholders of the vicinage, with the requisite of unanimity for conviction, of the right of challenge, and other accustomed requisites; and in all crimes punishable with loss of life or member, presentment or indictment by a grand jury, shall be an essential preliminary.”
And in 1992, in the Supreme Court case of United States v. Williams, 112 S.Ct. 1735, 504 U.S. 36, 118 L.Ed.2d 352 (1992), Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, confirmed that the American grand jury is neither part of the judicial, executive, nor legislative branches of government, but instead belongs to the people. It is in effect a fourth branch of government “governed” and administered to directly by and on behalf of the American people, and its authority emanates from the Bill of Rights, the acts of the Grand Jury is the consent of the people. In his assenting brief he wrote in part, “Thus, citizens have the unbridled right to empanel their own grand juries and present 'True Bills' of indictment to a court, which is then required to commence a criminal proceeding. Our Founding Fathers presciently thereby created a 'buffer' the people may rely upon for justice, when public officials, including judges, criminally violate the law.”
