Dubuque County Attorney Justifies Deadly Force in July Shooting

Last month, a harrowing situation occurred in the early morning hours of July 1st, 2025 when a Dubuque County Sheriff Deputy was shot during a traffic stop on Highway 151, north of the Highway 136 interchange.

The traffic stop was related to a "multi-jurisdictional investigation," per the initial press release from the Dubuque County Sheriff's Office. Members of the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, Dubuque Police Department, Iowa State Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Monticello Police Department, and Jones County Sheriff’s Office conducted a high-risk traffic stop that turned deadly for the suspect and wounded a Sheriff Deputy.

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Now, Dubuque County Attorney Scott J. Nelson released a full report regarding the shooting. This report comes after the incident was thoroughly investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations. In his report, Nelson felt the timing of the release of this recap of events was appropriate as the aforementioned investigation is "relatively complete" with only final autopsy and lab reports of the victim, James Sherrill.

The 36-year-old Sherrill was pulled over in what was deemed as a "high-risk" traffic stop around 4:30am on July 1st. The Dubuque County Attorney's Office said that Sherrill put officers in a position with "no other reasonable alternative under the circumstances than to shoot in their own defense." Dubuque County Sheriff's Sgt. Adam Williams, 46, was shot and injured. Sherill was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Dubuque Police Officer Chad Leitzen, 49, and Monticello Police Officer Cole Millard, 42, were also involved in the shooting.

Citing dash camera and body camera video that captured "the entire incident from several different angles" utilized in conjunction with the comprehensive investigation, the Dubuque County Attorney's Office justified the use of deadly force:

There are times police officers find themselves in untenable positions by persons they encounter. Mr. Sherill placed officers in that untenable position and unfortunately left these officers with no other reasonable alternative under the circumstances than to shoot in their own defense. The actions of Sgt. Williams, Investigator Leitzen, and Officer Millard were justified under the laws of the State of Iowa, and no criminal charges are justified or warranted. The Dubuque County Attorney's Office considers this investigation closed - Dubuque County Attorney Scott J. Nelson's closing statement in his report

You can read the full report from the Dubuque County Attorney's Office in PDF form here.