States vary on when, whether to release body-cam footage

RALEIGH, N.C. — Hours after an officer shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant on April 20 in Ohio, police released on-thescene video from the officer’s body-worn camera.

The Columbus Police Department was able to share the footage quickly because of a 2019 Ohio law that made such videos public record.

But a far different story has unfolded in North Carolina, where 42-year-old Andrew Brown Jr. was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies on April 21.

Under a 2016 law passed by the N.C. General Assembly, footage from cameras worn by law enforcement officers is not considered public record in the state. Police and sheriff’s departments do not have the authority to release footage on their own.

Instead, family members or the public must petition the court for video to be released, and a judge decides — a process that could take days or weeks.

A North Carolina Superior Court judge declined on Wednesday to release the footage to the public, though it could be shown to Brown’s family. After watching a 20-second clip this week, attorneys for the family said the footage shows an “execution.”

Frayda S. Bluestein, public law and government professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, said she doesn’t think any other states require a court decision before video is released, ABC News reported.

Democratic lawmakers are now pushing for a change to the North Carolina law.

Meanwhile, a database from the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, shows states vary widely on when and if footage should be public record and who can release it. The data is from 2018, and some elected officials have changed state laws or proposed new ones since then.

Laws also differ when it comes to the redaction of audio or video recordings in certain circumstances.

Here’s a breakdown of rules gathered by the Urban Institute and other sources:

• As of 2018, North Carolina was one of 38 states that had passed or considered passing laws about public access to body-worn camera footage, and it was one of 41 states that put restrictions on recordings if privacy is expected. North Carolina was also among 48 states to allow law enforcement agencies to withhold information requested by the public. Those rules include exemptions for active investigations.

• South Carolina also exempts body-worn camera footage from public record laws. A bill filed in January would make an exception if someone dies during an encounter.

• In California, the law requires the release of body-worn camera footage within 45 days of an incident.

• The New York Police Department, which says it operates the largest bodyworn camera program in the country, requires the public to file a request through the Freedom of Information Act, “unless otherwise prohibited by law.”

• In Georgia, body-worn camera footage is held for at least six months and may not be disclosed if there’s an investigation or if the video was taken in a private place, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Proposed legislation calls for footage to be released within 21 days of an incident.