(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency)
WATERLOO, Iowa, Dhu-AlQa'dah 21, 1437, Aug 24, 2016, SPA -- A black teenager who was shown on video getting thrown down by a white police officer in Iowa received thousands of dollars to keep quiet about a settlement he received, public records show, according to AP.
After resolving his federal lawsuit for $95,000, the city of Waterloo negotiated an extra $5,000 payment to Malcolm Anderson last month in exchange for guarantees that the 19-year-old and his attorney would not have any press conferences, make any disclosures to civil rights groups or ever mention the deal on social media. The Associated Press obtained the confidentiality agreement from the city under the Iowa open records law Tuesday.
Critics say it may be illegal for an Iowa government agency to demand confidentiality and goes against the public interest.
Whenever a state or local government agency in Iowa reaches a legal settlement, the document and a summary of the dispute "shall be a public record" under Iowa law. The Iowa Attorney General's Office advises government agencies that, "in government, settlements are not secret."
The Waterloo agreement acknowledges the city must release the amount paid to Anderson upon request under that law but says that the parties will not offer any additional comment and keep "its terms secret and confidential."
City Attorney David Zellhoefer, who signed the agreement, didn't return messages seeking comment. But Waterloo Police Chief Daniel Trelka said this month that he wanted to avoid discussion of questionable police conduct in the city of 68,000, which has Iowa's largest percentage of African-Americans at 16 percent but an overwhelmingly white police force.
-- SPA
20:13 LOCAL TIME 17:13 GMT
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