WATERLOO - The results of the investigation into a fatal police shooting over the weekend will likely go before a grand jury.

Although the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation's probe into the death of 31-year-old Eric Rule hasn't concluded, Black Hawk County Attorney Tom Ferguson said Tuesday he is contemplating assembling a grand jury to review the matter.

"That's my opinion at this time - that the investigation, once it's completed, I'll take it before a grand jury," Ferguson said.

The DCI investigation, which involves transcripts of interviews and lab reports, could take a month or more to finish.

Also, Tuesday, the Iowa DCI released a few more details on the shooting.

The DCI said Officer Steven Bose drew his issued weapon and fired twice at Rule after attempts to subdue him failed and he began to overpower Bose. The other officer involved in the incident was Jamie Sullivan, according to the DCI.

The officers used physical force and a Taser but were unable to control Rule, according to the DCI.

While the death has been ruled a homicide by the state medical examiner's office, that does not imply criminal intent. It merely means that the death was caused at the hands of another.

Grand juries typically don't rule on guilt or innocence, but look over evidence presented to determine if there are grounds to file criminal charges.

The process is held in secret.

"By law, they aren't public proceedings, although the decisions made by them are public," Ferguson said.

Background

Officers were called to Rule's home by his wife, Bethany, on 611 Keystone St. at 2:18 a.m. Saturday on a report of a domestic dispute. A scuffle ensued a short time later in the driveway between one of the officers and Eric Rule.

Bose received injuries to his eyes during the struggle, witnesses said, and was treated at Allen Hospital. He is no longer listed as a patient there, hospital officials said.

Sullivan and Bose have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings.

Rule's relatives said officers shouldn't have resorted to deadly force.

Grand juries used before

The last time a grand jury was convened in Black Hawk County for a police shooting was in August 2004 in connection with a March 2004 incident. Police were attempting to detain a man during a domestic dispute, and the man lurched at an officer with what was later discovered to be a pointed kitchen utensil. The officer shot, striking the man in the head and arm, but not killing him.

In that case, the grand jury declined to file any criminal charges against the officer.

The suspect was charged with domestic abuse and assault on peace officers.

Saturday's shooting was the third time this year Waterloo police fired their firearms in the line of duty.

Ferguson said his office hasn't received the results of the investigation of a June shooting in which Officer Kevin Boyland fired on a car that sped toward him when he tried to arrest the driver.

Ferguson declined to comment on the probe into a July incident where Officer Spencer Gann returned fire on a fleeing suspect who shot at him. The suspect was shot in the arm and has been charged with attempted murder.

Courier files indicated that Bose, who was sworn in as an officer in January 2003, has been commended for his service, and has been in prior scuffles with suspects. Sullivan has been an officer since May 2006.

In September 2006, Bose and other members of the Waterloo Police Department's Citizen Response Unit received an award from the Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee, made up of officials from the U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI and state and local agencies. The unit was honored for making the city a safer community.

In May 2006, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled that Bose exceeded his authority, and the court overturned a drug conviction of Anthony Eugene Ragsdale. Ragsdale was loitering and acting nervously near a drug store in a high-crime neighborhood. Ragsdake fled when Bose asked him about a bulge in his pocket. Ragsdale was caught a block away and Bose pulled seven bags of marijuana from Ragsdale's pocket.

The appeals court said Ragsdale's "apparent nervousness and his daytime presence in a high drug-trafficking area," without additional evidence, could not "transform a simple hunch into reasonable suspicion" on Bose's part.