January 29, 2021 | Letter No. 28
On Thursday, Iowa City staff released a report detailing an independent investigation into the June 3 incident where Iowa City Police assisted Iowa State Patrol in tear-gassing protesters.
Our lead-writer on the story, Hillary Ojeda, will have an overview of the lengthy report and its 39 recommendations soon.
In the meantime, a reader passed along three bills that I hadnât heard of, but for those used to the Iowa Legislatureâs reactive legislation to the goings-on in Iowa City, these will seem familiar.
None of these have made it out of committee, but they are doing work. In part, they are speaking to Iowa City, what we do here, what we donât. And even if they donât make it out of committee, they are some red meat for the base, sticking it to Iowa City.
House Study Bill 142 - Felony for blocking the street (Jarad J. Klein)
Youâll remember the months of protests where cyclists blocked streets in Iowa City ahead and behind Iowa Freedom Rider protestors. The bill is specifically aimed at a person operating âa bicycle, skateboard, or other pedestrian conveyanceâ raising the options law enforcement can press charges under.
Currently, they have the ability to charge as a simple misdemeanor for obstructing the street.
Under the bill the following escalations are possible:
A serious misdemeanor when a person blocks any âstreet, sidewalk, highway, or other public wayâ preventing use by others.
An aggravated misdemeanor when a person obstructs a street, etc., and commits property damage or is present during an unlawful assembly.
A class âDâ felony when a person obstructs a street, etc., and is present âduring a riot.â
A class âCâ felony when a person obstructs a street, etc., and a serious injury or death results.
[Above: Protesters sit on I-80 near the Dubuque Street off-ramp during the June Iowa Freedom Rider protests on June 5, 2020.]
House File 198 - Assault, Lasers (introduced by Klein as a house study bill)
The bill would add pointing a laser with the intent to cause pain or injury to another to the definition of assault. It would make a person who commits an assault guilty of a simple misdemeanor, aggravated misdemeanor, serious misdemeanor, class âDâ felony, or a class âCâ felony depending upon the circumstances of the offense.
Youâll remember last fall when MatĂš Farrakhan Muhammad (formerly Matthew Bruce) was charged by UIÂ police with nine counts of assault with the intent of injury on Iowas State Patrol officers, according to police complaints. Each was a class âDâ felony. A judge dismissed these charges after the Johnson County attorneyâs office took 46 days to file a formal charging document (one day longer than allowed by law), violating his right to a speedy trial, the Associated Press reported.
A fiscal note was filed on the bill Thursday.
House File 251 - Reduce the Police; Reduce the rest (Jon Jacobsen, Tom Jeneary, and Sandy Salmon)
Iowa City Council has committed to restructuring the police. It has not committed to defunding the police. But part of that restructuring will likely involve some degree of reassignment of responsibility. Take, for example, the recent move to contract out homelessness outreach to Shelter House, a responsibility once left to the police.
There are some responsibilities that could be facilitated outside ICPD. Council is considering ways they can pursue that delegation of responsibilities. Councilor John Thomas wants to see traffic enforcement performed by a street safety institution like the Johnson County Municipal Planning Organization. Others have pointed to the Animal Services, which could very easily be performed by non-sworn positions, perhaps outside the department.
The implication is that funding will eventually decrease for the departmentâs overall budget since responsibilities will be done outside of it. Though, we are not seeing any decrease in the budget in Fiscal Year 2022.
The bill introduced in the Public Safety Committee would deny municipalities like Iowa City state funding for reducing law enforcement agency budgets unless the total budget is reduced by the same rate or a larger rate. Once withheld, the bill would except the state funding freeze those state monies funding law enforcement activity.
The bill would add punishments for people occupying or organizing the occupation of right-of-way with a speed limit of 55 miles-per-hour or more.
The bill would make drivers who strike someone occupying this right-of-way immune to civil liability for injury caused unless their actions leading to the injury caused by the driver constitute reckless or willful misconduct.
Among many other anti-protester provisions, it would further make defacing publicly-owned property, âincluding a monument or statue,â a class âCâ felony.
Take Five (<â a blistering pace from Brubeck)
đ· 1b vaccine category opened up to 65 and older - Some Johnson County residents in the 1b category will be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine starting next Monday. IDPH announced that the group will now include people 65 years and older, after initially saying it would only include 75+.
đ UI decides not to search for DEI head - You can drop the interim from Liz Tovarâs title as the UI interim associate vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion. When Tovar came on in August, the plan has been for the University to lead a search process to replace TaJuan Wilson. But last October, that search was put on hold by UI President Bruce Harreldâs own retirement announcement. Tovarâs position comes with a $250,000 salary. The Iowa Regents will need to approve this appointment before it is official.
đœïž Donna Reedâs 100th - Wednesday would have been Donna Reedâs 100th birthday. But she died of pancreatic cancer in 1986. Isaac Hamlet reported out a hell of a dive into her career in and outside of Iowa from the people who knew her. (Also, check out the UX design in this article. Gannett is throwing pasta on the wall and Iâm hoping this sticks for longer stories.)
đ° Just short of funding the Greatest Small City for the Arts - The Englert and Filmsceneâs joint capital campaign, Strengthen. Grow. Evolve., fell short of its fundraising goal.
âThis campaign has opened up an opportunity to build a more inclusive future for Iowa City â a place in which all of our community members can thrive and feel comfortable," the Englert's executive director, Andre Perry, said in a news release of the campaign's completion. "The work and will to achieve that vision is immense, but this campaign, we think, has shown that there is a path toward that robust, unified light."
The organizations announced this week that they raised $5,389,412 during the public phase, down from the $6.5 million they aimed for back in April 2019. In reaction to the pandemic, the theaters reduced their goal to $5.5 million.
Funds were focused in large part on not only preservation work for the Englert and funding to help FilmScene move into its Chauncey location.
Heartwarming ice sculptor - While I like to think Iâm the only byline people know in the P-C, people really just want to read Dick Hakes columns. Hakes, a regular columnist for the Press-Citizen, once a week finds a story (normally in North Liberty) and breathes some life into a piece of your small town, a part you probably didnâtâ know about. This time itâs Ron Dillavou, an ice sculptor from Waterloo. And you just have to check it out.
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Zachary Oren Smith writes about government, growth and development for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach him at zsmith@press-citizen.com, at 319 -339-7354 or on Twitter via @Zacharyos.