By Sarah Watson
Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus
DAVENPORT, Iowa — A member of the public obtained and released a copy of the first few pages of the Division of Criminal Investigation’s report into the deadly building collapse in downtown Davenport in May 2023.
The copy is a summary of who died in the collapse, how DCI came to investigate the case, and the conclusions of a city-hired forensic structural engineering report released in the fall of 2023.
The DCI synopsis does not contain any new information on the causes of or what led to the partial collapse of the six-story apartment building with residents inside, instead referencing the engineering report.
Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham told the Quad-City Times /Dispatch-Argus in February her office would not bring criminal charges in the building collapse case based on her review of the information in the investigative report.
Media outlets and private citizens have submitted records requests for the DCI report, but Cunningham has declined to release it, citing concern of threats against the building owner and manager and the possibility it could impact civil litigation.
On Friday, Cunningham’s office submitted a request to the Iowa Public Information Board asking it to make a ruling on whether the report should be kept confidential. Cunningham’s office argues it should not be released and submitted affidavits from the building owner and manager detailing threats they received after the building’s collapse.
The synopsis from the report, sent to news outlets by a member of the public, Ezra Sidran, on Tuesday, states how DCI came onto the case and how many agents investigated the building collapse.
On June 1, at the request of city of Davenport officials, special agents responded to the collapse and began leading a criminal investigation.
Special Agent in Charge Richard Rah, now retired, was initially referred the investigation, and assigned Special Agent Ryan Kedley as the investigation’s case agent.
Kedley led the investigation, assisted by a DCI Major Crime Unit Special Agent in Charge, three assisting DCI-CU special agents, five assisting special agents from the DCI’s Special Enforcement Operations Bureau, seven Davenport Fire Department investigators, four Davenport Police Department detectives, a special agent from the State Fire Marshal’s Office and an Iowa State Patrol sergeant who helped with the drone overnight.
The synopsis describes the three men who died in the collapse — Branden Colvin Sr ., a 42-year-old who lived in apartment 511; Ryan Hitchcock, a 51-year-old who lived in apartment 208; and Daniel Prien, a 60-year-old who lived in apartment 309.
The summary released had redacted the cause and manner of death of the three men. But according to previous reporting, the state medical examiner’s office, which conducted the autopsies, ruled the three men died from “multiple blunt force injuries with mechanical asphyxia.” Colvin Sr .'s family, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit, believe he was alive under the rubble for a time, potentially for days.
Quanishia White-Cotton Berry, who lived in apartment 411, was rescued from the rubble. Emergency responders amputated her leg in the process.
The owner, Andrew Wold, pulled multiple city permits for construction and repairs to the building since he purchased the building two years earlier, the synopsis notes. The city issued a citation in the days after the collapse for a municipal violation — maintaining unsafe structure.
The summary references the city-hired White Birch Group and Socotec Engineering, Inc. report and what they found to have caused the collapse.
The two firms found the “root causes” were inadequate capacity of the wall system and inadequate shoring.
The two firms also found seven “proximate causes of collapse” which the DCI summary references — improper understanding of original building construction, inadequate construction documents, neglect of composite wall, inadequate oversight of repairs, inherent weakness of west wall, inadequate repair techniques, and inadequate frequency and type of maintenance.
The summary also states that during the course of the investigation, agents regularly communicated with Cunningham in “continually assessing how the findings of the investigation apply to Iowa criminal law.”
The lead agent, Kedley, told the Quad-City Times /Dispatch-Argus a year ago, when Cunningham’s office received the report, that the Division of Criminal Investigation were in communication with Cunningham.
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