On January 18, 2018, Fiedler Law Firm PLC client Amy Ford settled her claims of sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation against the City of Anamosa Police Department and Police Chief Robert Simonson. News of the public settlement has raised questions about accountability and how to prevent something like this from happening again. At the February 12, 2018, City Council meeting, several Anamosa residents looked for answers as they expressed their frustration about the Chief’s continued employment at the department, and the City’s position that its hands were essentially tied. The City of Anamosa posted video of the City Council meeting on YouTube. The video is embedded below, queued to start at the relevant time.
Within days, an Editorial appeared in the Anamosa Journal-Eureka, calling it “amazing that the council has allowed [the Chief] to stay in office this long” and criticizing the City’s dismissive posture, stating, “These attitudes have no place in city government, especially in a police department whose responsibility is to enforce the law in the city. Click here to read the editorial. The Journel-Eureka also published an article about the City Council meeting, which is available here.