Iowa man criminally charged, fired, still entitled to unemployment, judge rules

A former state corrections officer has been awarded jobless benefits after being arrested for an alleged drunken incident involving his 6-week-old child and a firearm.

According to Iowa Workforce Development records, Caleb Carl, 31, of Burlington worked for the Eighth Judicial District Department of Corrections as a residential corrections officer for less than a year, helping incarcerated offenders transition into the community, before he was fired in late October.

Police records show that in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, 2023, when Carl was at home and off duty, his wife called the Burlington police and reported he had been drinking and was not acting normally.

More: Fired Iowa prison guard, accused of selling contraband to inmates, wins jobless benefits

The police arrived and, according to their reports, Carl was in an upstairs bedroom, holding his 6-week old son in his arms while reclining on the bed and showing signs of intoxication. He asked officers to remove his wife from the residence and after they refused, Carl allegedly became agitated and demanded the officers leave.

The officers complied but were sent back to the home within minutes to assist with an escalating situation. The officers spoke with Carl again but left after he again demanded that they do so, according to the police reports.

Within minutes, officers were dispatched a third time to the residence and were advised that Carl had a firearm and was making suicidal statements and holding the gun to his chest while in possession of the child.

More: Iowa unemployment ticks down in December, but so does labor force participation

According to the police reports, officers stood outside the building and asked Carl to come downstairs, to which he allegedly replied, “I have a gun.” Carl eventually came to the stairway without a gun and was detained by officers through an involuntary hold due to mental illness. The officers reported they found a gun just inside the doorway of the bedroom.

Judge finds that conduct wasn’t during work hours, grants unemployment

According to Iowa Workforce Development records, the Department of Corrections placed Carl on leave two days after the incident, and Burlington police criminally charged Carl with child endangerment. He has pleaded not guilty and a trial is scheduled for March 6.

On Oct. 30, the Department of Corrections fired Carl for allegedly failing to conduct himself in a professional manner that maintained respect for the department, for actions that may adversely affect the public confidence in the state’s criminal justice system, and for failing to obey all laws and departmental policies.

After the department appealed the state’s decision to award Carl unemployment benefits, a hearing was held and Administrative Law Judge Carly Smith ruled Carl was fired for reasons that do not disqualify him from benefits ― noting that disqualifying misconduct consists of substantial and willful wrongdoing or repeated carelessness or negligence.

More: Scott County court-services worker fired after 20,000 text messages are uncovered

Smith found that Carl had a “a serious mental impairment and lacked the mental capacity to deliberately disregard the employer’s interests.”

She also found that the Department of Corrections failed to prove intentional wrongdoing or show any connection between Carl’s conduct and his employment. She noted that while Carl admitted he was intoxicated, he was at home and off duty on the night in question.

Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com.