Iowa attorney accused of using racial slurs after fire victims declined legal aid
A weekend apartment fire in West Des Moines, Iowa, became even more devastating for some residents when a neighbor threatened them with violence and racial slurs.
On Saturday, first responders extinguished a fire at the Regency Woods Apartments.
According to West Des Moines police, attorney Adam Kehrwald offered legal aid to a group of evacuated residents outside the apartment complex during the fire.
When the group declined, police said Kehrwald threatened the people he offered to help.
“He started using the racial slurs, and then eventually stated that he was going to go get a firearm and return,” West Des Moines Police Sgt. Jason Heintz said. “So, our officers decided to intervene at that time.”
Paula Black said she’s known Kehrwald for at least a year and became scared as he became more threatening.
“We tried to calm him down, me and another girl, and I told, ‘Adam, please don't talk like that. That's not nice,’” she said. “Then he went around the corner and started yelling at all those people.”
Heintz said Kehrwald went from making verbal threats to punching officers as they attempted to arrest him.
“When they went to place him into custody, he began to fight,” he said. “He struck a couple of the officers in the face with a fist and an elbow, and then he also assaulted a third female officer that we had on-scene before they were able to take him into custody.”
Investigators said police body camera video captured Kehrwald’s threats and violence. Kehrwald faces a series of charges, including using abusive epithets and assaulting a peace officer causing serious injury.
Sister station KCCI contacted Adam Kehrwald by phone. He declined to comment.