Iowa cop fatal shooting video subject of private meeting
Amid questions about a potential conflict of interest with the Iowa Attorney General and after spending more than $43,000 to prosecute a state agency for a public records violation, a state board will hold a closed-door meeting Friday.
The 2015 case primarily involves efforts to make public the complete police video — rather than a 12-second clip — of the accidental fatal shooting of Autumn Steele by a Burlington policeman.
Multiple members of the Iowa Public Information Board said Thursday they couldn't say or didn’t know about the agenda item set to discuss litigation in the case.
But several critics say the special meeting — coupled with the board's ruling last week that undermines the efforts of a prosecutor it hired to represent the case — signals trouble for public transparency.
Randy Evans, executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, worries that Friday’s meeting is a precursor to dismissing the case.
The wider concern behind the case is a contention that law enforcement is routinely making available to the public videos that compliment their work, while hiding those that could evoke criticism, Evans said.
“I think the public information board would be doing lasting harm to its credibility if after 2½ years of proceedings in this case they simply throw in the towel and didn’t see the case to its conclusion,” Evans said.
Concerns of conflict
The case involves the death of Autumn Steele, killed in front of her toddler by Burlington Police Officer Jesse Hill in January 2015.
The 12-second clip from Hill’s body camera that was released by authorities shows he fired his gun twice without warning after a dog is heard growling off-camera. Autumn Steele was fatally wounded by the shots.
The German shepherd jumped on Hill’s back and bit his thigh, authorities said.
The shooting was justified because of the dog attack, a prosecutor later determined. Hill did not face disciplinary action.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety and Burlington officials have refused to release more than the 12-second clip, saying it is part of an investigative file and they can keep the footage forever secret.
They’ve also refused to release 911 call transcripts and other records, citing the same reasons.
Steele’s family and the Burlington Hawk Eye newspaper have for more than 2½ years fought to see the full video and other records in the case.
The information board in December 2015 in a 4-3 decision voted to proceed with a “contested case” against the police and public safety agencies. The board hired Mark McCormick, a former Iowa Supreme Court Justice, to prosecute the case.
Administrative Law Judge Karen Doland in June ordered Burlington and the public safety department to provide an inventory and general description of records as part of legal discovery.
But Iowa’s public safety and the Burlington police appealed, saying even a list of the records they hold is confidential.
Iowa fights order to produce police shooting records log
The Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller’s office — who represents the public safety department in the dispute — had another attorney on their staff, Michelle Rabe, give the board information last week about its options before its vote to vacate Doland’s ruling.
The information board in a 7-1 vote last week agreed to vacate Doland’s ruling, meaning a list of the records would not be provided to McCormick, the board’s prosecutor.
McCormick said last week’s decision “handicaps the prosecution.”
In responding to questions from the Register, he said he wonders whether it is appropriate for the Attorney General’s Office to provide guidance to the information board while simultaneously representing the safety department in fighting the board’s prosecution.
Adam Klein, the attorney representing the Steele family, shares McCormick’s concern.
“It sounds to me like a tremendous conflict,” Klein said. “I will tell you I have nothing but praise and admiration for the work that Mark McCormick has done to represent the interests of Iowa citizens. But I think it would be a damn shame if his work is cut off because the board decides they don’t want to see the results of a hearing.”
Miller's office says they don't believe there are any ethical concerns with the representation.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Prosecutor: Agencies withheld records in Burlington killing
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- Secrecy of Burlington shooting under review
The state's attorney rules of professional conduct regarding conflicts of interest do not apply to all attorneys within the Iowa Attorney General's office just because one staff member represents a state agency, said Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for Miller.
Rabe does not have the same supervisory chain of command as Jeff Peterzalek, the attorney representing the safety department in the case, Greenwood noted.
"We do this to ensure that information does not flow between these parties outside of the formal hearing process," Greenwood said.
New board makeup
Suzan Stewart is the only remaining board member who voted to pursue the records case in December 2015.
The other eight members have been replaced by Govs. Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds.
The new board includes former director and longtime legislative lobbyist Keith Luchtel as a media representative on the board, although he had never worked as a journalist.
Also now on the board is Julie Pottorff, a retired lawyer from the Iowa Attorney General’s office who previously helped the department argue several cases to keep records from the public.
Mary Ungs-Sogaard, chairwoman of the information board, said Friday’s meeting is to discuss “different aspects” of the case.
Ungs-Sogaard, the publisher of the Dyersville Commercial and Cascade Pioneer, declined to say whether the meeting will discuss dropping the case.
“That I can’t tell you,” Ungs-Sogaard said. “It’s got to be open for discussion with the group."
About the meeting
The Iowa Public Information Board will meet publicly before going into a private meeting Friday. They are also expected to publicly convene again just after the non-public portion of their meeting is completed.
The meeting starts at 1 p.m. in the third-floor conference room of the Wallace Building, 502 E. 9th St. in Des Moines.
People may also join the meeting via phone at: 866-685-1580 using the conference code: 284-144-1953