Public Access to Police Body Cameras Still Unclear

The Akron Police Department is one of four departments in Northeast Ohio employing use of body cameras. Other departments include Cleveland, Aurora and Twinsburg.

However, it is not clear what the rules with using body cameras are, or how the video in question comes into play as public record. Legislation has been proposed that mandates that agencies using body cameras have a written policy set in place and be made public.

The bill does not cover who should have access to footage shot on body cameras, or how it should be filed.

The Akron Police Department’s website defines public record as “any document, device, or item, regardless of physical form or characteristic, including an electronic record as defined in section 1306.01 of the Revised Code.”

Officials of the Akron Police Department could not be reached for comment on their definition of body camera videos as public record, or any restrictions in place on requesting body camera video.

According to Officer Tricia Knoles of the Kent State University Police Department, Kent State graduate students in the police academy are partnering with Akron Police in a study with the body cameras.

According to a press release from the Akron Police, “body cameras have been shown to reduce citizen complaints and uses of force while building community trust and increasing transparency.”

With civil rights movements such as Black Lives Matter coming to light in the wake of the deaths of Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray and Michael Brown, all due to police brutality, there has been a debate surrounding the use of body cameras on police officers and the public’s access to those videos.

“I think that [body cameras] are a good step in the right direction, because they introduce the idea of being able to see what’s going on,” said Brianne Stafford, junior environmental geography major at Kent State. “They could make or break a situation and for people to see something, they’re more likely to believe it. If we don’t use a resource like that, things can spread in the wrong direction.”

Junior Middle Childhood Education major Katie Connell had similar views.

“I feel like depending on what was involved, body camera videos should be released for public record so that people can know what happened and see it firsthand. It can be a clear shot of what the story was, instead of a rumor.”