Police accountability activists are questioning whether a new law passed by Detroit City Council requiring Detroit police to release body cam footage during an officer involved shooting will bring true transparency.
Council approved the ordinance in an 8-1 vote. It requires the Detroit Police Department to publicly release footage online within 30 days, with certain exceptions police say are vital to ensuring the footage won’t jeopardize criminal investigations.
Gabriela Santiago-Romero, the lone no vote, cited the ability for police to use those loopholes to block the release of footage in her opposition.
Several public commenters joined council session Tuesday to express their opposition to the proposal.
Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway defended the ordinance, saying her the law was a good start and could be strengthened later on. She said like the U.S. Constitution, all laws are meant to be amended.
The law comes into play when an officer “discharges their firearm in a manner that strikes, or that potentially could strike, another individual” and when an officer’s force results in “death or great bodily harm.”
District 5 city council candidate Willie Burton, a member of the board of police commissioners, told Michigan Chronicle in an interview Wednesday he would have voted with Santiago-Romero.
“Police can hold individuals for 72 hours. Why wouldn’t they be able to provide footage of an incident in the same amount of time?” Burton said. “You lose community trust when you drag it out for weeks.”
Burton says 7-10 days is an appropriate window of time to allow police to investigate an officer involved shooting before releasing body cam footage.
The law as written allows Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office or the city’s corporation counsel to block release of the footage until a charging decision has been made. Footage recorded during federal and state task force operations are excluded from the requirement.
Detroit police can release edited footage that provides a comprehensive view of the incident, and must attempt to notify anyone involved or members of the family and allow them to review it.
The city’s corporation counsel has the ability to block footage it deems would create a disadvantage or unfair bias to a party in the case.
Just this week, Detroit Police Department Chief Todd Bettison acknowledged an officer violated department policies while shooting a woman six times during a traffic stop Sunday, Oct. 26. The woman was hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries and was later released to the Detroit Detention Center.
In a press conference Monday, Bettison said he is asking police commissioners to suspend the officer without pay, promising he will be held accountable.
Bettison said after reviewing the video footage of the incident, he ordered the woman’s release from jail. She won’t be charged with a crime, Bettison said.
