A state board has voted to pursue complaints filed against the Des Moines County attorney for not turning over law enforcement records sought by relatives of a woman killed by a Burlington police officer.
The Iowa Public Information Board voted 4-2 at its meeting last week to press the noncriminal action against Amy Beavers, according to The Hawk Eye (http://bit.ly/1KH4ztX ). Beavers violated Iowa's open records law last year by not giving copies of the records to the attorney for Autumn Steele's relatives, the board said. A Burlington officer accidentally shot Steele to death in January 2015 while responding to a fight between Steele and her husband. The officer was not charged and was returned to duty.
Steele's family and The Hawk Eye have waged a months-long battle for access to a number of the case records. They have filed civil complaints against the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Burlington Police Department and Beavers.
Attorneys for the Iowa Public Safety Department have said they satisfied Iowa law by releasing a 12-second body camera video of the shooting. Burlington police officials have said they turned over all of their records to state investigators and cannot provide the information to the public.
Beavers has said she thought her staff had sent the records to state investigators, so she didn't have them to share with the family's attorney. One of the issues the information board faced last week was whether Beavers was in legal custody of the records when the family's attorney filed his request.
On Monday the board's executive director, Charlie Smithson, said the action against Beavers will be referred to the same outside attorney who will pursue the actions against the Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Burlington Police Department.
"It makes more sense procedurally to have the same person handle all three issues as opposed to me handling one case and someone else the other two," Smithson said.
By law, an administrative law judge will be retained. He or she can recommend the release of the records and fines of up to $2,500 for each agency. The information board can accept or reject the recommendation. Any final action by the board can be appealed by the involved parties in district court.
http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news...cle_cd93fcc7-8c6a-5e2a-b70f-a06fba460142.html
The Iowa Public Information Board voted 4-2 at its meeting last week to press the noncriminal action against Amy Beavers, according to The Hawk Eye (http://bit.ly/1KH4ztX ). Beavers violated Iowa's open records law last year by not giving copies of the records to the attorney for Autumn Steele's relatives, the board said. A Burlington officer accidentally shot Steele to death in January 2015 while responding to a fight between Steele and her husband. The officer was not charged and was returned to duty.
Steele's family and The Hawk Eye have waged a months-long battle for access to a number of the case records. They have filed civil complaints against the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Burlington Police Department and Beavers.
Attorneys for the Iowa Public Safety Department have said they satisfied Iowa law by releasing a 12-second body camera video of the shooting. Burlington police officials have said they turned over all of their records to state investigators and cannot provide the information to the public.
Beavers has said she thought her staff had sent the records to state investigators, so she didn't have them to share with the family's attorney. One of the issues the information board faced last week was whether Beavers was in legal custody of the records when the family's attorney filed his request.
On Monday the board's executive director, Charlie Smithson, said the action against Beavers will be referred to the same outside attorney who will pursue the actions against the Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Burlington Police Department.
"It makes more sense procedurally to have the same person handle all three issues as opposed to me handling one case and someone else the other two," Smithson said.
By law, an administrative law judge will be retained. He or she can recommend the release of the records and fines of up to $2,500 for each agency. The information board can accept or reject the recommendation. Any final action by the board can be appealed by the involved parties in district court.
http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news...cle_cd93fcc7-8c6a-5e2a-b70f-a06fba460142.html
