An Iowa Department of Natural Resources conservation officer has been fired for using a confidential state database to screen potential dates and for her conduct during an incident involving Ankeny police.
State records indicate Angela Jansen, 41, of Central City, worked for the DNR from October 2018 to August 2023 when she was fired for conduct unbecoming a state employee and for the unauthorized personal use of a DNR database.
According to state officials, on June 14, 2023, Jansen was off duty and on a date in Ankeny while carrying her service weapon in her purse. At some point in the evening, Jansen called an ex-boyfriend to come pick her up from her date.
The ex-boyfriend is a felon, according to state records, and while he and Jansen were in his car the two began arguing. The argument escalated to the point where the ex-boyfriend’s Apple Watch determined there was an emergency of some kind and dialed 911 without the two realizing it.
Ankeny police arrived on the scene and began investigating the matter. The DNR’s law enforcement bureau chief, Craig Cutts, later testified that he reviewed the officers’ body-camera footage and saw video of Jansen telling the responding officers she had a gun in her purse. When asked why she had a gun, Jansen reportedly identified herself as a DNR officer.
During the discussion with police, Jansen allegedly asked one of the officers if he dated older women and referred to him as “Officer Hot Stuff,” the DNR later alleged. In addition, she reportedly admitted more than once that it was likely that she was drunk at the time, and then informed the officers she had used a state database maintained by the DNR to determine the marital status of at least one person she was considering dating.
Ankeny police did not arrest Jansen or issue any citations, but they did confiscate the purse with the gun in it and drove Jansen home where they returned the items.
A few weeks later, Jansen reported some details of the incident to Cutts. Jansen’s direct supervisor, Capt. Deb Vitko, then contacted Cutts and allegedly told him she had heard about the incident over the police radio and there was more to the story than what Jansen had reported. She reportedly told Cutts about the firearm and said there appeared to be some question as to whether the ex-boyfriend had been held against his will.
Cutts then initiated an investigation and reviewed the body-camera footage and police reports. The department ultimately concluded Jansen had acted in a manner unbecoming of a state employee and that she had improperly accessed and then used information from the DNR database. Jansen was fired on Aug. 2, 2023.
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According to state records, Jansen had one previous disciplinary warning for conduct unbecoming a state employee. That warning, which was coupled with a suspension, was issued in June 2021 after Jansen was arrested for drunken driving in Linn County where tests showed she had a blood-alcohol level of .172 percent — more than twice the legal limit. Jansen was convicted of first-offense drunken driving and sentenced to 48 hours in jail to be served on weekends.
When she was fired from the DNR, Jansen filed for unemployment, and after an initial fact-finding hearing in which the DNR didn’t participate she collected $4,832 in benefits. The DNR then appealed that decision.
The matter went before Administrative Law Judge Alexis Rowe who recently ruled that Jansen’s use of the DNR database, by itself, would not rise to the level of misconduct that would disqualify her from collecting benefits.
However, Rowe ruled, the DNR had established that Jansen’s off-duty behavior on June 14 was disqualifying job-related misconduct.
Jansen “acted inappropriately with a police officer, asking him if he dated older women and calling him ‘Officer Hot Stuff,’” Rowe stated. The judge added that Jansen “also admitted more than once that it was likely she was drunk. These actions were objectively harmful to the employer’s interests in maintaining the reputation of professionalism for its officers.”
Rowe also ruled Jansen had been overpaid unemployment in the amount of $4,832, but found that Jansen was not obligated to repay those benefits. Because the DNR had not contested the application for benefits at the initial fact-finding stage, the agency’s account was charged for the cost of those payments.
When contacted Wednesday by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Jansen declined to comment on the matter.
This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
