Former Davenport city administrator calls apartment collapse predictable and preventable

DAVENPORT, Iowa (WQAD) - A former city administrator in Davenport says a deadly apartment building collapse was “predictable and preventable.”

Craig Malin, who served as City Administrator from 2001 to 2015, is now an expert witness in a lawsuit filed by former tenants.

The building known as The Davenport partially collapsed on May 28, killing Branden Colvin, Ryan Hitchcock, and Daniel Prien.

Malin wrong in an affidavit

In an affidavit, Malin wrote that the deadly collapse was predictable and preventable.

“...the collapse of The Davenport was foreseeable and the loss of life, injury and loss of property by residents of the Davenport was preventable had City staff acted upon information they possessed, with authority and resources the City had at its disposal,” Malin wrote in the affidavit.

Malin pointed to documents provided by the city after the collapse, including engineering reports and fire marshal violations showing the building’s hazards.

Malin also argues the city administrator at the time of the collapse had staffed department heads with less experienced people, and was not transparent about possible problems.

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