Coach Acquitted in Central Iowa TP Case

In a follow-up to a story we posted last Fall, the Van Meter teacher who was accused of assaulting a group of teenagers who TP'd his house recently had his record wiped clean of any wrongdoing, being acquitted on the charges by a six-person jury.

Joel Bartz, through his attorneys, pled self-defense after the incident which happened on a Thursday night (aka school night...something that would have been an issue in itself "back in my day", BTW) last September. Bartz was taken to court because of the attack after one of the kids got out of their truck and approached Bartz. According to the Des Moines Register, Bartz allegedly then "grabbed the student, pulled him down, and punched him in the back and head, ripping the student's shirt in the process". Bartz was charged with and acquitted of misdemeanor assault and criminal mischief. A defense expert testified that one of the students had his "hands up in a fighting position" before Bartz made any moves.

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One of Bartz's attorneys went on to call him an "amazing guy" and while there was no word on what, if any punishment the kids will face, maybe they will leave it up to Bartz to go all "Coach Carter" and assign a few extra push-ups, laps around the track or, perhaps, enlist the janitor to supervise a little after-school work.

Better yet: we all remember the extreme shortage of toilet paper last year at the height of the pandemic right? How about stocking the TP shelves at every store within a 20-mile radius?