A California judge just ruled that a city police department was out of line when it charged public records requesters thousands of dollars to get access to body camera footage, raising big questions about how agencies release police videos and other electronic records going forward.
An Alameda County Superior Court judge recently decided that Hayward, California — a city just outside of Oakland — misinterpreted the state’s public records law when it forced the National Lawyers Guild to pay $3,200 to get access to body camera footage. The group was hoping to get access to select body camera videos from a 2014 “Black Lives Matter” demonstration, since some claimed that officers used excessive force in trying to disperse protesters…
Eric L. Piza, Ph.D. 