CINCINNATI — You may soon have to pay hundreds of dollars to view police body camera footage.
Ohio lawmakers legislation passed this weekthat would allow police to charge up to $75 for every hour of video released to the person who requests it. The cost would be capped at $750.
The fee was included a change to the state’s sunshine lawsthat was quietly introduced and passed early Thursday by the Republican Party-controlled Legislature.
The amendment has some people concerned, like Sean Vicente of the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office.
“Putting that barrier between a citizen and their government is a real problem and it will really hurt people who are not only poor, but also working class and middle class,” Vicente said.
Vicente says he’s having trouble understanding the reason for the bill.
Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said the bill is a “solid way” to approach what he called an “expensive, labor-intensive process.”
Vicente says this argument makes no sense.
“This footage is already prepared and provided to public defenders or defense counsel on a routine basis,” Vicente said. “So if we actually charge a taxpayer for those images, it’s a double dip in some ways.”
In 2021, the West Chester Police Department determined that two of its officers had violated department policy when they stopped and questioned 60-year-old Eric Lindsaywhich is black.
Officers were looking for a shoplifting suspect, who was described as a white male in his 30s.
West Chester Police Station
West Chester Police Officer Tim Mintkenbaugh approaches a black man, Eric Lindsay, for questioning in a shoplifting investigation, even though the suspect was described as a white man wearing clothing of a different type and color.
“The bodycam footage, especially in our case, and in so many others, provides a clear perspective and either confirms or refute either side’s version of what happened,” said civil rights attorney Fanon Rucker.
Rucker represented Lindsay in a lawsuit against the West Chester Police Department, the two officers and Meijer, where the incident occurred.
Rucker worries about what the new law could mean for future cases like Lindsay’s.
“In our case it was absolutely essential. I don’t think there would have been a legitimate claim without it,” Rucker said.
WCPO 9 has reached out to multiple local law enforcement agencies to discuss the amendment. None of them would comment.
The bill is now on Governor Mike DeWine’s desk to be signed or vetoed.
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