Iowa prosecutor opposes release of body cam footage from reporter’s arrest during protest

An Iowa prosecutor is reportedly resisting calls from a Des Moines Register journalist to provide body camera footage of her May 31 arrest, arguing it would be overly expensive and time-consuming for a misdemeanor case.

Des Moines police detained Andrea Sahouri, a 24-year-old reporter, as she fled from the scene of a demonstration protesting the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, charging her with failure to disperse and interference with official acts, according to the Register. Her lawyer, Nick Klinefeldt, has repeatedly called for legal discovery, including body camera footage and police reports, the newspaper noted.

“We’re asking for the Des Moines Police Department and the Polk County Attorney’s Office to show some leadership, do the right thing and dismiss these charges,” Klinefeldt said Monday, the Register reported. “And if they’re not willing to do that, then at least provide us the evidence so that we can have a fair trial.”

“With the advent of in-car cameras and body cameras, the costs associated with obtaining, copying, redacting and producing potential discovery materials has increased astronomically in recent years,” assistant Polk County prosecutor Brad Kinkade wrote in response to the request, according to the newspaper.

Kinkade reportedly cited the 1979 Supreme Court case Hadjis v. Iowa District Court, which he said allows courts to withhold some types of evidence for simple misdemeanor cases, but Klinefeldt cited the same case in a Tuesday response motion, saying it entitles Sahouri to see any recorded statements she made to police.

“The state has arrested Sahouri, pepper-sprayed her, put her in the Polk County Jail, and it now seeks to give her a permanent criminal record,” he wrote in the motion, “yet it maintains that this matter is not important enough to provide her with the evidence against her (including a video allegedly showing her violation of the law) or provide her with information in their control that may exonerate her.”

Police wrote that Sahouri failed to identify herself, which Sahouri has contradicted, according to the Register, noting that Klinefeldt has said whether or not she did is irrelevant, because no one in the area, which was across from a mall where looting was reported to have taken place, should have been pepper-sprayed for fleeing.

Fifth Judicial District Judge Christopher Kemp will reportedly have the ultimate say over whether Sahouri’s lawyers can view the prosecution’s evidence following a Thursday hearing.