ACLU of Iowa files appeal to state board ruling on police records

DES MOINES, Iowa — The ACLU of Iowa on Monday announced that it filed an appeal to a state board’s ruling last month declaring police department body camera, dash camera, 911 calls and other records can be kept confidential—and remain private after an investigation is over.

The appeal targets a February ruling by the Iowa Public Information Board, which sided with the Burlington Police Department and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation in a case involving police records of an accidental fatal shooting of Autumn Steele in 2015 by a Burlington police officer. The agencies argued that all records related to the case —including body camera video and 911 calls— qualify as parts “peace officer’s investigative report,” and therefore are shielded from Iowa’s open records law. (Read more here…)