The Death of Kevin Thacker

It was October 29, 1983 in Marshalltown, Iowa when 20 year old Kevin Thacker was arrested for OWI by Officer Kendall Eldred.  Less than an hour later, Kevin would be fighting for his life due to a head injury.  Six days later he would succumb to this injury.  His parents took Officer Eldred to court with a civil lawsuit claiming that he had caused the death of their son.  The police department would contend that Kevin had escaped custody and jumped from their roof to the roof across the alleyway when he fell to his death, making it a total accident.

Sources for this episode:
Justia - Thacker v. Eldred
Times-Republican - Kendall Joel Eldred
Deposition of Kendall Eldred
YouTube - The Thacker Case: Booking Video
Find A Grave - Kevin Thacker, Thomas Thacker, Beverly Thacker
Wikipedia -  Marshalltown, Iowa
YouTube - FBI Corrupt Coverup of a murder by a policeman
Wikipedia - U.S. history of alcohol minimum purchase age by state
LSA Iowa - Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) Law
Facebook - Justice for Kevin Thacker