A chase on Friday night led to the shooting death of an Iowa State Patrol Trooper in Grundy Center. 41 year old Michael Lang fled to his home and engaged in a standoff with law enforcement. Troopers used an armored personnel carrier to smash into the home and gain entry. Lang allegedly opened fire on the troopers, hitting and killing Sgt Jim Smith, a 27 year veteran of the force. Troopers returned fire critically injuring Lang who has been charged with first degree murder. The chase resulted from a simple traffic violation. When Lang finally stopped he assaulted a Grundy Center officer and taking his gun and stun gun and putting him in a choke hold. A Grundy County deputy then arrived on scene, leading Lang to flee to his home. Smith is the 11th trooper to die in the line of duty in the patrol’s history, the first since 2011. Lang won the primary for the Democratic nomination for Grundy County Sheriff in 2020 but was easily defeated in the general election, receiving just 22% of the vote.
