The video footage being gathered from body cameras worn by police officers could be locked away and those affected by the events being recorded may never see it.
The House government committee, including State Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart, voted unanimously last week to advance a bill that places the burden on those seeking video to prove that its release is merited.
It would be a mistake to make the bill Indiana law. A giant mistake.
It’s not that police should broadcast the video or show it on a big screen for entertainment. It’s not that police should be able to discard it without thought. It’s simply that putting the burden of proof on a member of the public to prove its worth in court is the wrong approach.
For three years, the city of Chicago fought the release of footage from the police shooting of 17-year-old Cedric Chatman on Jan. 7, 2013. The city released another video showing police shooting a young black man in November. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has pledged more transparency. On Wednesday, the city withdrew its opposition and on Thursday the judge allowed the release.
The Chatman video shows an officer shooting a young man running away from police. The city’s lawyers had said they wanted the video to be withheld until a lawsuit from Chatman’s family was done.
Such a lawsuit is exactly why the video should be released. It’s evidence in a shooting. If officers paid to protect citizens made mistakes and video shines light on that, the city of Chicago should be held accountable.
The point of cameras is to increase transparency and be used as another tool to build trust between a police department and the community it protects.
Body cameras are becoming standard issue. Departments have and will continue to gather footage, which would often show officers doing the right thing and acting responsibly to protect and serve. Yet under House Bill 1019, as it’s now phrased, a sheriff or police chief could lock down the release of any copies if the video contains something that could embarrass the department and its officers.
A family member or someone shown in the video could watch it, but if police refuse to release a copy they would have to go to court to fight to get a copy of it. Even if the victim or family of a victim won such a lawsuit, the law doesn’t afford that they’d be reimbursed for their legal costs. All this may keep justice from prevailing.
Though not in our community, relations between police and the public is tense in many areas of our country. Police video of confrontations between the two aren’t always pretty and even judging right or wrong from them can be difficult, but allowing Indiana police agencies to lock down video and force those outside the department to go to court by default is wrong.
Taxpayers pay for police protection. We now live in a world where video footage of police actions is commonplace. But where Indiana is starting on how agencies handle the footage isn’t transparent. It’s locking video in a box and then playing keep away with the key. That’s just wrong.