Bettendorf, Ia (AP) — An Iowa prosecutor has found that a police officer was justified in fatally shooting a man who was holding a machete to the body of a 4-year-old girl. Scott County Attorney Michael Walton said Friday in a news release that Officer Patrick Mesick fired at Timothy Clevenger last month to “prevent injury or death of that little girl and others in the residence.” Clevenger, who was 53, died at the scene. The release said police heard screaming when they responded to a 911 call at a home in Bettendorf and eventually forced their way inside. Several people were found in the basement after the shooting.
