A fender bender on the south side of Des Moines turned into a felony investigation after police say the at-fault driver got out of his car with a handgun instead of his insurance card. It’s the kind of story that makes every driver wince a little, because most of us have been in a minor crash at some point, and the vast majority of those encounters end with an exchange of information, not a firearm.
According to the Des Moines Police Department, officers responded to a crash near Southeast 14th Street and East McKinley Avenue shortly after 2:30 p.m. Friday. One person was hurt in the collision itself, but the real trouble started once everyone was out of their vehicles. Police say 43-year-old Bradley James Ratkovich, whose car had been rear-ended, got out and pointed a Glock 9mm handgun at the two occupants of the other vehicle, an 18-year-old driver and his 16-year-old passenger.
Investigators say the evidence, including witness statements and cellphone video from the scene, backs up that account, and officers are still waiting on traffic camera footage to fill in the rest. Ratkovich was taken to a Des Moines hospital for a medical evaluation before being booked into the Polk County Jail. His attorney has pushed back on the police version of events, telling reporters his client acted in self-defense after being rear-ended while stopped at an intersection.
Ratkovich now faces two counts of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, two counts of first-degree harassment, and one count of being a person ineligible to carry a dangerous weapon. He’s pleaded not guilty and waived his preliminary hearing, with bond set at $12,000 cash. His next court date is scheduled for early August, with arraignment to follow in September.
What Led Up to the Crash
Details on what caused the initial collision are still limited, according to KCCI Des Moines. Police haven’t released a full crash report yet, and the investigation into fault is separate from the criminal case tied to the gun.
What we do know is that the crash itself was minor enough to be handled through insurance under normal circumstances, which is exactly why the aftermath stands out.
The Legal Fallout
Aggravated misdemeanors carry real weight in Iowa, and stacking multiple counts on top of a weapons charge is not a small matter. The self-defense claim from Ratkovich’s attorney will likely be the crux of how this plays out in court, since Iowa law allows the defensive use of a firearm under certain circumstances.
Whether that standard applies here is now up to a judge.
Cellphone footage from bystanders has become almost a given at scenes like this one, and in cases where accounts conflict, that footage often ends up doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Investigators leaning on witness statements and video rather than just the drivers’ own accounts is a pretty normal part of how these cases get built now.
Our Take
Car people talk a lot about horsepower and handling, but the truest test of any driver is what happens in the thirty seconds after a crash. A fender bender is frustrating, and getting rear-ended stings even more because it’s rarely your fault.
But reaching for a firearm turns a repair bill into a criminal case, and there’s no engine swap that fixes that kind of decision.
Whatever actually happened on Southeast 14th Street, this is a good reminder that the best tool to bring to a crash scene is a phone to call 911, not anything else in the glovebox.