Police attorneys fight latest ruling in Burlington fatal shooting

Attorneys representing law enforcement agencies in their quest to keep private certain records about Autumn Steele's death are appealing a judge's recent decision to the Iowa Public Information Board on the grounds the ruling was 'fatally flawed.”

Administrative Law Judge Karen Doland ruled Dec. 5 against the Burlington Police Department and Iowa Department of Public Safety's motion for a summary judgment. The ruling seemingly paved the way for the case to move toward an evidentiary hearing.

Attorney Jeff Peterzalek, representing the Department of Public Safety, argues Doland 'made numerous errors of law in the order denying summary judgment.”

'The Iowa Public Information Board has expressly ruled the records at issue are confidential investigation records,” Peterzalek stated in the seven-page appeal.

He described the board's Aug. 17 decision as 'clear and unambiguous” and that Doland's rationale for ruling against the law enforcement agencies was 'fatally flawed.”

The near unanimous decision granted the agencies 'interlocutory relief” and bucked a June 12 ruling by Doland that law enforcement agencies release a 'privilege log” to Mark McCormick, prosecutor for the Iowa Public Information Board, The board's ruling cited past case studies of requests for privilege logs and found there was no requirement under Chapter 22 - Iowa law governing public records - that would require their release.

'It is this Board's finding that the respondents (Burlington Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation) have met their burden ... and that the records in dispute are confidential investigative reports under Iowa Code section 22.7(5), and thus not subject to disclosure,” the board's decision read.

After that, the law enforcement agencies filed a motion to dismiss the case, which Doland rejected.

In her December ruling, Doland said there was 'strong legal support” for the position that law enforcement officers' investigative reports are confidential, but in this case a clear definition of 'peace officers' investigative report” was not established.

The central issue in the open records case - which resulted from the fatal shooting of Burlington resident Autumn Steele by a Burlington police officer - is whether law enforcement officers' investigative reports, including body camera, dashboard videos and 911 calls, are exempt from public release under Iowa's open records law.

Following Steele's death in January 2015, The Hawk Eye and the Steele family filed separate requests for copies of all public records related to the incident.

A 12-second video from the body camera worn by Hill at the time of the shooting was made public, prompting the agencies to assert they had complied with Iowa's open records law. Any records deemed an 'investigative report,” they claimed, could lawfully be kept confidential.

'The (Iowa Public Information Board) said what it meant and meant what it said,” the appeal stated, referring to the board's August decision. 'The (administration law judge's) tortured efforts at getting around the IPIB's ruling must be reversed.”

Also in the appeal, Peterzalek requested the Iowa Public Information Board halt all further action on the Steele case until a decision on interlocutory review is made.