Public information board OKs $200 settlement with prosecutor

The Iowa Public Information Board on Thursday unanimously approved a settlement allowing a southeast Iowa prosecutor to pay a $200 fine to resolve civil charges contending she broke Iowa's open records law by not providing records to the family of Autumn Steele, a Burlington woman fatally shot by police in 2015.

Still pending are cases against the Burlington Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), which have refused to release records about the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2015, shooting.

That incident involved Burlington Police Officer Jesse Hill, who responded to a domestic disturbance call at Steele's house where he was attacked in the yard by the family dog, board records state. Trying to shoot the dog, Hill fired his weapon twice and accidentally hit Steele, killing her.

No criminal charges were filed against Hill and he returned to work.

The Burlington Police and the DCI so far have released only 12 seconds of Hill's body camera recording, saying the rest of the investigative materials can be kept secret under Iowa law.

Open government advocates disagree, saying Iowa's Open Records law, Chapter 22, was not intended to shield records from closed investigations.

The case, which is to be decided by an administrative law judge, is set for a Jan. 6 status conference.

Des Moines County Attorney Amy Beavers was custodian of reports and other investigative materials about the shooting when Steele's family filed a records request with her office Feb. 27, 2015, the settlement states. Beavers told the Steeles on March 16, 2015, when she responded to their request, she already had sent the file to the DCI and had not retained local copies.

'The parties hereby agree that the facts are sufficient that a reasonable fact finder could find a violation of Iowa Code Section 22.2(1) by the Des Moines County Attorney,” the settlement states. 'The Des Moines County Attorney does not admit guilt in this case.”

Beavers cooperated with the board's investigation, participating in informal resolution and creating an office policy about public records, the settlement states.

The nine-member board, formed in 2012 to enforce Iowa's open records and open-meetings laws, has authority to issue civil fines of up to $2,500 for a knowing violation of the laws. Six members of the board participated in Thursday's meeting in Des Moines.

l Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com