Search fatalities

Steven Funk

Age : 47

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/21/2025

Location : 300 block of Roche Street

City : Knoxville

County : Marion

State : Iowa

Agency : Knoxville Police Department

Officer(s) :Joseph Weppler

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during domestic disturbance call

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/21/2025, Knoxville Police Department Sgt. Joseph Weppler shot 47-year-old Steven Funk during a domestic violence response at a residence in the 300 block of Roche Street in Knoxville. Later investigation identified Officer Matthew Eagleton as the second Knoxville officer who responded but established that Weppler fired the fatal shot.
.
At approximately 11:13 p.m., Marion County dispatch received a 911 call from Funk's wife, Andrea Funk. She reported that Funk had driven his vehicle into the house and was attempting to get inside despite a no-contact order prohibiting him from doing so. The 911 connection remained open as the confrontation continued.
.
According to the Iowa Attorney General's subsequent investigation, Funk had driven east through an alley and crashed his vehicle into the northwest rear corner of the house. Investigators reported that he tore a video doorbell from the house, broke a panel from the backyard fence and kicked in a rear door.
.
Andrea Funk remained connected to 911 as Funk entered the house. According to the Attorney General's reconstruction, Funk beat on the bedroom door until he forced his way inside and began strangling her. Dispatchers could hear the confrontation through the open telephone connection.
.
Weppler and Eagleton arrived and entered the residence. As they reached the bedroom, investigators reported that they could hear Andrea screaming and then gagging. Funk was positioned against the bedroom door in a way that prevented the officers from fully entering.
.
Weppler managed to push partially through the doorway. According to the Attorney General's report, Weppler saw Funk with a hand around Andrea's throat and ordered him to stop. Police reported that Funk did not comply. Weppler then fired his handgun, striking Funk.
.
Police and emergency medical personnel provided medical treatment. Funk was transported to a Des Moines hospital, where he died from the gunshot wound. Andrea Funk was treated at a local hospital and released.
.
The subsequent investigation also established that Funk himself had previously worked in law enforcement as a Warren County sheriff's deputy. The Attorney General reported that area law-enforcement agencies were familiar with him from encounters in more recent years.
.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation conducted the independent investigation into Weppler's shooting of Funk. The case was then reviewed under the Iowa Attorney General's independent authority to investigate police conduct resulting in death.
.
On 09/22/2025, the Iowa Attorney General's Office publicly identified Sgt. Joseph Weppler as the officer who shot Funk and Officer Matthew Eagleton as the other responding officer. The Attorney General concluded that Weppler's shooting of Funk was legally justified and did not file criminal charges against him.
.
OFFICER BACKGROUND
Joseph Weppler was the Knoxville police sergeant who shot and killed Steven Funk. Matthew Eagleton responded with Weppler and participated in the intervention but was not identified by the Attorney General as having fired at Funk.
.
Weppler appears in a separate Iowa appellate case concerning police conduct during a traffic stop. In State of Iowa v. Donna Lee Cox, the Iowa Court of Appeals examined body-camera recordings of Weppler and another Knoxville officer during a traffic stop in which a police dog was used to conduct a free-air sniff while Weppler completed a citation. The defendant challenged the duration of the detention under the Fourth Amendment. After independently reviewing the officers' body-camera footage, the appellate court concluded that Weppler had not deliberately prolonged the stop and rejected that constitutional challenge.
.
The fatal shooting of Funk received a formal independent review by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation followed by the Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General concluded on 09/22/2025 that Weppler reasonably used deadly force while intervening in what the office characterized as an attempted murder of Andrea Funk.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/knoxville-police-shooting-leaves-1-124911577.html
https://www.kcci.com/article/knoxville-police-officers-shoot-suspect-during-assault/65870587
https://dps.iowa.gov/press-release/2025-08-26/update-subject-named-knoxville-officer-involved-shooting
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IACIO/bulletins/3f3cc1a
https://www.kcci.com/article/steven-funk-knoxville-officer-involved-shooting/65903555
https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-attorney-general-says-fatal-police-shooting-in-marion-county-was-justified/68003999
https://www.radioiowa.com/2025/09/22/iowa-attorney-general-clears-knoxville-officer-in-fatal-shooting/
https://law.justia.com/cases/iowa/court-of-appeals/2025/23-1771.html