Robert Michael Dooley

Deadly force

Van Buren County sheriff's deputies responded to at least three 911 calls reporting that a man wearing a military uniform was walking along Highway 2 near Cantril, Iowa. Callers said that he was making obscene gestures at passing motorists. The officers reported that they approached the man, Robert Michael Dooley, and demanded that he drop his gun. When he pointed it at them, one of the deputies, Jon Tharp, fired a single shot, which killed Dooley. Dooley, who had participated in Civil War and other historical military reenactments, was later found to have been carrying a vintage air rifle which was designed to look like a Winchester Model 1894 rifle.