Public Trust ‘Eroded’ by Delays in Bodycam Footage, Austin Chief Admits
Despite promising a year ago to release body camera videos of use-of-force incidents in Austin, Tx., within 60 days, only one body camera video has been released on time.
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A year ago, the city of Austin, Tx., promised to release video from officers’ body cameras within 60 days of use of force incidents causing serious injuries, a win for advocates of police reform in the state. However, since then, only one body camera video, of a non-fatal police shooting, has been released on time, reports Reuters. Videos of three fatal police shootings were released, but past the deadline. In at least 10 use-of-force incidents during Black Lives Matter protests, the department did not release any video. Austin’s interim police chief Joseph Chacon said there are legitimate reasons for video delays including insufficient time for preparing the footage for public disclosure.
Chacon believes the policy needs to be overhauled in order to achieve its goal of more transparency. He said failing to meet the 60-day expectation erodes public trust in the police. Chacon, who hopes to become the next chief, said one way to reduce processing time of the videos is to release near-raw footage instead of editing the videos first. “They have an expectation and when we fail to meet that expectation, that erodes the trust,” Chacon said.
