Former Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich’s bid to seal trial evidence has been denied, a district associate judge ordered Wednesday.
Last October, Bemrich was charged with operating while intoxicated after a traffic stop stemming from multiple alleged traffic violations. Shortly thereafter, Bemrich, through his counsel, filed a motion to suppress evidence, arguing the officer did not have justification to stop his vehicle. In December, that motion was granted, excluding evidence beyond the traffic stop to be admissible to the Court. As a result, the Webster County Attorney’s Office motioned to have the case dismissed.
After the case was dismissed, Bemrich’s Counsel the filed a motion to seal the inadmissible evidence though the Courts. Simultaneously, Bemrich’s counsel also appealed to Fort Dodge City Manager Fierke, seeking to have the video footage destroyed. In the request to Fierke, the Counsel concerns seemed to center around the idea that the video footage “…depicts Mr. Bemrich and others speech and conduct…”. Bemrich’s Counsel went on to argue the video “…was unlawfully obtained as a result of an unlawful stop.”
Critics have been quick to point out hypocrisy in the attempts to seal and/or destroy the dash cam and body camera footage, the very footage that was relied on to have the initial charges dropped. Randy Evans, Executive Director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, touched on the issue in his widely published column. Evans wrote “Bemrich is asking the judge to seal from public view the police video recorded after the traffic stop and during those sobriety tests—even though police videos regularly are deemed to be open public records, and even though the judge reviewed and relied on the recording in ruling to exclude that evidence from Bemrich’s trial.”
District Associate Judge Joseph Tofilon wrote in his order that “the Court denies the motion to seal on the procedural ground that the Defendant seeks to prevent the release of the video in the wrong courtroom with the incorrect type of pleading.” The order went on to say “In the Court’s opinion, the Defendant’s avenue for relief lies in the civil or administrative, not criminal realm.”
The matter appears to be far from over. In Tofilon’s order, he points to relief that may be obtained in the Iowa Open Records Act and Iowa Public Information Board Act. The future of the dash cam and body cam footage may very well fall in the hands of the Iowa Public Information Board. The Iowa Public Information Board is a nine-member board appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. It is made up of media, government, and public representatives.
