Retiring WDM police chief on city changes and cold cases
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West Des Moines police chief Chris Scott with artist Jill Wells at the new Youth Justice Initiative space at the WDM police department in 2024. Photo: Courtesy of WDM
West Des Moines police chief Chris Scott is retiring from the police department (WDMPD) at the end of February after nearly a decade of leading the growing law enforcement agency.
Why it matters: Starting in 2017, Scott led WDMPD through high-profile criminal cases, the city's growth spurts, and emerging online scams.
We asked him to reflect on his time at WDMPD:
How it started: Scott, who previously worked for Des Moines, found himself at a department that was "significantly understaffed" in 2017, he tells Axios.
- West Des Moines at that time had about 70,000 residents, but thanks to the city's retail and entertainment options, the daytime population was double, sometimes triple that number.
- "One of my first challenges was, how do we get more bodies here?" he says.
- With support from the WDM City Council, he grew the department from 69 officers to 99 during his tenure — a gain of 30. He calls that number "incredible," but says the city is still about 15 officers short of where it needs to be as it continues to grow.
Memorable cases: Scott says his staff helped solve several high-profile cases over his tenure:
Sakira Bonner, an 18-year-old who was killed and dumped on Coachlight Drive in 2019.
- "That was significant for me," Scott says. "Horrible, horrible what happened to her."
Gowun Park, a former Simpson College professor who was accused of killing her husband in 2020.
Locating a WDM teenager in Tennessee this year after she was lured by an adult she met on Roblox.
Unresolved cases: WDMPD still gets tips on the Johnny Gosch and Ashley Okland cases. Over the last couple of years, detectives have traveled out of state to investigate "prison chatter" on the Gosch case, he says.
- A major challenge for the more-than-40-year-old case is that witnesses and people with information are aging or have died.
- However, the more recent Okland homicide has "never collected dust," Scott says. The 14-year-old case involving the Realtor continues to get tips.
Technology changes: New equipment, such as automated license plate readers (ALPRs), has transformed police work and reduced the hours officers spend reviewing materials. It's also helped solve crimes, including identifying suspects in a series of robberies against Lady Jane's Haircuts last year.
- In 2025, the ACLU of Iowa released a report showing how many ALPR cameras municipalities utilized. WDM had the third-highest number among the responding agencies, totaling 64.
- While he acknowledges criticism of the camera technology and reports of misuse, he hopes residents view it as a deterrent against crime. "I would hope, after understanding how we're using it, the community would say, 'Yes, I want that.'"
Online crimes against kids: Child pornography cases have increased, Scott says. 2020 was a record-breaking year nationally for child pornography crimes as more people stayed in their homes, and Scott says WDM also experienced an uptick that hasn't gone down.
- "Since COVID, it almost created an underworld network of these people that prey on kids," Scott says. "So we have increased our presence."
What's next: Craig Bellamy, who served in the Houston Police Department, will take over as West Des Moines' next chief starting Feb. 2.
- After a transition period, Scott will serve as DMACC's director of emergency management and public safety in March.