Des Moines officer charged, accused on interfering in case Follow Us Question of the Day By - Associated Press - Thursday, February 18, 2021 DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Des Moines police officer has been placed on leave after being charged with a misdemeanor in which he’s accused of trying to interfere in a criminal investigation involving one of his friends. Officer Rodney Alan Briggs was arrested Wednesday by police in nearby Altoona and charged with non-felonious misconduct in office, the Des Moines Police Department said in a news release Thursday. The release said Briggs exceeded his authority as a police officer by trying to persuade Southeast Polk School District employees to give him video evidence related to an ongoing Altoona police investigation involving a friend of Briggs’.