WATERLOO - Dozens of friends and family gathered downtown Sunday afternoon to protest the police shooting and killing Eric Rule, a man they maintain was a gentle giant and loving father who had put a checkered past behind him.

Autopsy results released Sunday morning ruled the death a homicide. According to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the classification means Rule died at the hands of another person and does not have any bearing on criminal intent.

The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, according to the DCI report.

Rule, 31, a father of two, died in the driveway of his home at 611 Keystone St. early Saturday. His wife, Bethany, called police at 2:18 a.m. for a domestic dispute at the home.

Officers Jamie Sullivan and Steven Bose arrived at 2:23 a.m, according to police department records. The next officers arrived six minutes later.

According to witnesses and police, a struggle developed, and an officer shot Rule - who was at least 6 feet tall and weighed 260 pounds - in the chest.

Officers were unable to restrain Rule despite using a number of control techniques, including a Taser, according to police. Rule then began to overpower one of the officers. The officer managed to draw his service weapon.

Officials pronounced Rule dead at the scene.

The officers involved are on paid administrative leave, DCI agent Jeff Jacobson said. Because the investigation is continuing, few new details from the officers' standpoint have been released.

When completed, the DCI's findings will be turned over to the Black Hawk County Attorney's Office, Jacobson said.

Rule had a run-in with police in 1997, when he allegedly refused to get into a squad car and kicked an officer. In another incident four years later, Rule pleaded guilty to interference with official acts and paid a fine for refusing orders from Waterloo officers.

Between 2000 and 2004, police in Waterloo and Cedar Falls cited Rule multiple times for other offenses, including public intoxication and operating a vehicle with a suspended driver's license.

Family speaks

Friends and family lashed out at police Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Park, hugging and crying.

"They shot an unarmed man twice in the chest," said his wife, Bethany Rule, who witnessed the shooting. "The family will stop at nothing until they see a murder charge."

Bethany Rule said she called police so they could take her husband to the hospital to detox. When asked by dispatchers, she said she told them she did not feel threatened.

Becky Daugherty, Eric Rule's mother, acknowledged her son had been drinking.

"OK. He was drunk. That doesn't give anyone the right to shoot him," she said.

"Beth wanted assistance. And now she's a widow," Daugherty added.

Friends and family describe Rule as a dedicated father and older brother who had responsibility thrust on him at a young age.

Bethany Rule and her mother, Shelley Shimp, said Rule's playful side came out around children. They added he never laid a hand on his wife or children.

Rule's criminal record is clean since 2004 because marriage and fatherhood changed him, and Shimp called Rule "the best thing that every happened to my daughter." She added her son-in-law was by Bethany Rule's side every step of the way after the couple's oldest daughter was born prematurely at 2 pounds.

The daughter, 4, cried so hard she vomited when she found out her dad was dead, Shimp said.

"I just want the truth to be out about what he's like as a man, not what he did as a kid," she added.

Daugherty was 14 when she gave birth to Eric, she said, and people told her it was a huge mistake.

When Rule was 14, Daugherty said, his stepfather died in a car accident. From then on, he worked long hours and never missed the birthdays of his six brothers and sisters.

"He helped me raise my kids. He was always there to help with everything," Daugherty said.

With his first paycheck, Rule reportedly bought his youngest brother, Kevin Harris, now 18, a pair of Nike shoes. Harris said Rule was the "best" of his brothers and a role model because he was the only one who seemed to have a plan for his life.

"When I was younger he was never home because he was always working. He was always there with money for mom," Harris said.

Aaron Westphal, a coworker with Rule at Martinson Construction, said his friend started at an entry-level position more than 10 years ago and worked up to field engineer. He added Rule always showed up early and often stayed late.

"He even went into work on his wife's birthday because they needed him," he said. "It's going to take a huge person to fill his spot."