Comment on Iowa police body camera video sometimes revealing — if the public is allowed to see it

This article is the first in an occasional series called “In Focus” about public access to police body camera and in-car camera video in Iowa.     When an Iowa City police officer in 1996 accidentally shot and killed Eric Shaw, an artist working late in his father’s office, Troy Kelsay wasn’t the one who fired the gun but knew police had made a terrible mistake when he saw blood flow from Shaw’s body. “Then, the standard practice was for police departments to say ‘no comment,’” said Kelsay, who, after 27 years in the Iowa City Police Department, is chief in University Heights, an enclave of about 1,100 tucked within Iowa City. “The PD and city, wrongly I think, were saying ‘no comment.’ Saying ‘we screwed up’ wasn’t going to change anything, but you’re far better off saying ‘I f’ed up royally.