WASHINGTON – (WMAL) The head of the DC Police Union is still not happy with the policies surrounding body camera footage.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m on the street corner in front of your house, or inside the house, or inside a business. If I’m there legally because of a work-related call, that is a public-generated document and something the public should have access to,” said Union head Delroy Burton.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s latest memo indicated she has softened her stance on the privacy of body camera footage. The rollout of additional cameras has so far been stalled as the Mayor and Council disagree over footage privacy. The Mayor in the past indicated she wished all footage to stay private and exempt from requests under the Freedom of Information Act. In a recent memo, the Mayor now says she would approve footage filmed in public places be public, but footage filmed inside a home or business should stay private.
“It demonstrates that the Mayor was on the wrong side of the issue to begin with. The D.C. FOIA statue provides enough protection under the law enforcement exemption and the personal privacy exemption that we don’t need to make any carve-outs,” Burton told WMAL. “It’s a move in the right direction, but I think it’s not quite enough.”
Burton maintained police body cameras vilify his own officers and the only way they all can be held equally accountable is for all footage to be released, no matter where it’s filmed.
“All we’re saying is, if you want open government, you can’t claim that you’re into accountability and openness when you’re going to restrict records like these,” he says.
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