In December, the Iowa Public Information Board kept alive the Steele family's quest to see more, overruling the agency's staff by a razor-thin 4-3 vote. The Burlington Police Department contends that FOIA doesn't require the video's release. The board's dissenters said they, too, prefer that FOIA require the full release of body camera footage. The problem, they argued, is with the law itself, which says nothing about the new technology.

And they're right.

Now the rush is on in Des Moines, as both sides are seeking legal clarity from the General Assembly. Many police departments want body cameras largely exempted from FIOA. The Iowa Freedom of Information Council is rightly fighting back, lobbying for greater transparency in the code.

One side is looking out for itself, while again reinforcing public mistrust. The other side is defending the citizenry.

A slew of Iowa's largest police departments flout nationally accepted procedural guidelines for body cameras, The Des Moines Register reported. In fact, the officers involved in an incident get a private showing of the video footage. And then, as in Burlington, the public is left with only the official line.