Former Iowa Receiver Cleared in Shooting

Former Iowa receiver Ivory Webb, a two-time letterman for the Hawkeyes who started in the 1982 Rose Bowl, was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of an Air Force police officer last year.

Webb was a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy on Jan. 29, 2006, when at the end of a high-speed chase he shot Elio Carrion after Carrion appeared to be following Webb's order to get up from a sprawled position on the pavement. The shooting was videotaped and the footage, which drew comparisons to the 1991 beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, dominated the four-week trial. The jury, composed of eight whites, three blacks and one Latino spent less than half a day in deliberation.

Webb's teammates at Iowa included Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, Arizona coach Mike Stoops and former NFL Pro Bowler Andre Tippett.

Webb, 46, broke down when the verdict was announced (video link on this page) and hugged his attorneys. Carrion, 23, who has returned to duty at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, has yet to make a public comment.

Webb, who left the Sheriff's Department a few months after the incident, still must contend with a federal lawsuit Carrion filed against Webb and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.