Police Use-of-Force Reports Release Upheld by Iowa Supreme Court

Police in Iowa’s largest city must release use-of-force reports from 2020, the state’s highest court has ruled.

The Des Moines Police Department balked at releasing 387 reports requested by a retired attorney, arguing they were exempt from the state open records law for containing confidential information about public employees.

“They are reports of facts, not evaluations of employees,” and therefore the exemption doesn’t apply, Justice Edward M. Mansfield wrote in a Friday opinion joined by five other members of the Iowa Supreme Court. The opinion affirms a district court’s ruling that ordered the city to release the reports.

The Des ...