Des Moines officer charged, accused on interfering in case

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines police officer has been placed on leave after being charged with a misdemeanor in which he’s accused of trying to interfere in a criminal investigation involving one of his friends. The Des Moines Police Department said in a news release Thursday that Officer Rodney Alan Briggs was arrested Wednesday by police in nearby Altoona and charged with non-felonious misconduct in office. The release says Briggs exceeded his authority as a police officer by trying to persuade Southeast Polk School District employees to give him video evidence related to an ongoing Altoona police investigation involving a friend of Briggs’. Police did not name the friend or detail the investigation involving the friend.