25FC:0063 Miguel Puentes/Davenport Police Department - Investigative Report and Probable Cause Order

Date:
07/17/2025

Subject: 
Miguel Puentes/Davenport Police Department  - Investigative Report and Probable Cause Order

Opinion:

The Iowa Public Information Board

COMES NOW, Erika Eckley, Executive Director for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and enters this Investigative Report:

On May 28, 2025, Miguel Puentes filed formal complaint 25FC:0063, alleging the City of Davenport (City) and the Davenport Police Department violated Iowa Code Chapter 22.

The IPIB accepted this Complaint on June 19, 2025.

Facts

On May 20, 2025, the complainant, Miguel Puentes, submitted a Chapter 22 request for records from the City’s license plate recognition (LPR) system relating to a particular Illinois license plate and vehicle from November 10, 2024 to December 10, 2024. This request was made on behalf of the Office of State Public Defender in relation to an ongoing criminal matter.

On May 23, 2025, the Davenport Police Department asserted that the document in question did not exist and, if it did, it would be confidential pursuant to Iowa Code § 22.7(5) as part of a police investigative report in an ongoing investigation. On May 28, 2025, Puentes filed formal complaint 25FC:0063, alleging that the City had failed to comply with the information exception in Iowa Code § 22.7(5), which generally provides that “the date, time, specific location, and immediate facts and circumstances surrounding a crime or incident” are not to be withheld as confidential for most files. Puentes also questioned whether the asserted confidentiality exception should apply in the first place.

Following acceptance of the complaint, the City raised Iowa Code § 22.7(55) as a second basis for confidentiality, asserting that the disputed records qualified as “[a]n intelligence assessment [or] intelligence data under chapter 692, except as provided in section 692.8A.” The City specifically relied on IPIB’s precedent in 23FC:0127, Van Pelt/City of Clive, which reviewed a similar request for the footage recorded by another city’s license plate recognition cameras.

Applicable Law

“The following public records shall be kept confidential, unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records, or by another person duly authorized to release such information:

55. An intelligence assessment and intelligence data under chapter 692, except as provided in section 692.8A.” Iowa Code § 22.7(55).

“‘Intelligence data’ means information on identifiable individuals compiled in an effort to

anticipate, prevent, or monitor possible criminal activity.” Iowa Code § 692.1(14).

“A criminal or juvenile justice agency, state or federal regulatory agency, or a peace officer shall not disseminate intelligence data, which has been received from the department or division or from any other source, outside the agency or the peace officer’s agency unless all of the following apply:

a. The intelligence data is for official purposes in connection with prescribed duties of a criminal or juvenile justice agency.

b. The agency maintains a list of the agencies, organizations, or persons receiving the intelligence data and the date and purpose of the dissemination.

c. The agency disseminating the intelligence data is satisfied that the need to know and the intended use are reasonable.” Iowa Code § 692.8A(1).

Analysis

Iowa Code § 22.7(55) provides confidentiality for “intelligence assessments and intelligence data,” as described by Chapter 692, which addresses criminal history and intelligence data. Intelligence data is defined in Iowa Code § 692.1(14) to include “information on identifiable individuals compiled in an effort to anticipate, prevent, or monitor possible criminal activity.”

In 23FC:0127, Hendrik van Pelt/City of Clive, IPIB considered a similar request for eight hours of sensor data captured by LPR devices installed at a particular intersection on a particular day, “including but not limited to license plate numbers, photos, and videos.” In determining that the respondent in that case properly withheld the records under Iowa Code § 22.7(55), IPIB found: 1) that the sensor data collected by the city clearly qualified as data or information, 2) that the records were compiled for the purposes of anticipating, preventing, or monitoring possible criminal activity, as the cameras “allow[ed] the City’s police department to receive notifications regarding potential criminal activity[,] allowing the department to investigate further,” and 3) that license plate and vehicle information captured by the devices qualified as “individually identifiable characteristic[s],” as the term was defined in Iowa Code § 692.1(12).[1]  Based on this analysis, IPIB dismissed the complaint, finding that the confidentiality was available to deny the records request.

IPIB precedent in 23FC:0127 is controlling in this case. The complainant seeks records created by the City’s LPR system for a particular vehicle and license plate. Assuming any such records exist for the dates provided, the LPR records 1) would contain “information” 2) from a system implemented “to anticipate, prevent, or monitor possible criminal activity” occurring in the monitored areas, which 3) pertain to “identifiable individuals.”

To the extent that the complainants have expanded their request to seek other records from police investigative files, these records were not clearly sought in the Chapter 22 request at issue, though nothing in this opinion would prevent future requests from being made. Likewise, this opinion only pertains to the records available under Chapter 22’s public records laws. The State Public Defender may have additional routes to pursue access in an ongoing criminal matter, but discovery issues are outside of IPIB’s limited jurisdiction over Chapters 21 and 22.

IPIB Action

The Board may take the following actions upon receipt of a probable cause report: 

a. Redirect the matter for further investigation;

b. Dismiss the matter for lack of probable cause to believe a violation has occurred;

c. Make a determination that probable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred, but, as an exercise of administrative discretion, dismiss the matter; or

d. Make a determination that probable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred, designate a prosecutor and direct the issuance of a statement of charges to initiate a contested case proceeding.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 497-2.2(4).

Recommendation

It is recommended the Board dismiss the matter for lack of probable cause to believe a violation has occurred, as the LPR device records sought are confidential intelligence data pursuant to Iowa Code § 22.7(55).

By the IPIB Executive Director

_________________________

Erika Eckley, J.D.

[1] “‘Individually identified’ means criminal history data which relates to a specific person by one or more of the following means of identification:

1. Name and alias, if any.
2. Social security number.
3. Fingerprints.
4. Other index- cross-referenced to paragraph “a”, “b”, or “c”.
5. Other individually identifying characteristics.” Iowa Code § 692.1(12).

Under Iowa Admin. Code r. 497-2.2(4) the Board takes the following action: 

• a. Redirect the matter for further investigation;
• b. Dismiss the matter for lack of probable cause to believe a violation has occurred;
• c. Make a determination that probable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred, but, as an exercise of administrative discretion, dismiss the matter; or
• d. Make a determination that probable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred, designate a prosecutor and direct the issuance of a statement of charges to initiate a contested case proceeding.

By the Board Chair

___________________________________

Monica McHugh