Minnesota police lost their bid to keep most of their body camera footage private on Monday in a move that will help ensure transparency throughout the process.
Matt Massman, commissioner for the Department of Administration, denied the bid to temporarily keep footage private until state lawmakers could pass body camera regulations. Police wanted the data footage to be kept private, citing that it could infringe upon the privacy of the public, but it seems more likely that they had their own self interests in mind. Public opinion of police officers continues to drop after events in Ferguson and New York City, and any questionable practices caught on tape would only add fuel to the fire.
Commissioner Massman said he did not have the authority to privatize the footage, likening the laws that govern body camera footage access to that of arrest data – people should and are legally allowed to request and receive that information. Massman said a change would have to come from a higher power, and he noted that police should approach the Legislature about a potential change.
Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell, who along with 18 other police departments pushed Massman for the change, knew that the request was a longshot.
“We had hoped we could have moved forward,” Schnell said. “[We’ll focus on the legislative solution] which we knew all along was our ultimate goal.”
Currently the only footage that is off limits are encounters involving minors, incidents involving sexual assault or abuse and videos with information sensitive to an investigation.
“It’s definitely important to protect certain victims from having their police encounter made available to the public,” said Criminal Defense attorney Avery Appelman. “But it’s also important that footage remains available and transparent. If the police can block access to a large portion of videos or curb the narrative as they see fit, then we’re back to square one, and we might as well not even have body cameras.”
Related source: Pioneer Press
