Consumer Law
A Lawsuit Accuses a Des Moines Police Union Boss of Harassment
The longtime president of the Des Moines police officers’ union sent explicit photos to four female colleagues but retired before he could face discipline and wasn’t criminally charged, the city confirmed late Tuesday.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, four Des Moines Police Department employees alleged that they were sent unsolicited photos by Des Moines Police Bargaining Unit Association President Stew Barnes in 2019 and 2020, including many of himself naked.
The department let Barnes, 61, retire in August 2020 with full benefits despite “overwhelming evidence” of his harassment of co-workers and employees of a tanning salon and a credit union, the lawsuit claims. Department leaders recognized him at a retirement banquet in October 2020.
