Coalition opposes exemption for body camera video

dcogcadmin | April 12, 2015

  The D.C. Open Goveernment Coalition has asked the D.C. Council not to enact a new Freedom of Information Act exemption covering videos from body cameras worn by Metropolitan Polic officers. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser sought the exemption in her 2016 budget proposal, which includes funds to equip all MPD officers with body cameras.

  In a letter to Phil Mendelson, chairman of the D.C. City Council and Kenyan McDuffie, chair of the Council’s Judiciary Committee, Kevin Goldberg, Coalition president, argued that “preventing the public from accessing these videos via an all-encompassing FOIA exemption is bad public policy. We are very concerned that this proposed exemption is included in broad legislation where it is unlikely to receive the specialized consideration it requires.”

  The D.C. Open Goveernment Coalition has asked the D.C. Council not to enact a new Freedom of Information Act exemption covering videos from body cameras worn by Metropolitan Polic officers. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser sought the exemption in her 2016 budget proposal, which includes funds to equip all MPD officers with body cameras.

  In a letter to Phil Mendelson, chairman of the D.C. City Council and Kenyan McDuffie, chair of the Council’s Judiciary Committee, Kevin Goldberg, Coalition president, argued that “preventing the public from accessing these videos via an all-encompassing FOIA exemption is bad public policy. We are very concerned that this proposed exemption is included in broad legislation where it is unlikely to receive the specialized consideration it requires.”

  Goldberg asked Mendelson and McDuffie to remove the exemption from the budget bill and hold hearings on a separate bill. “There are certainly going to be differences of opinion regarding the accessibility of videos recorded by police wearing body cameras. While our organization exists to be a voice for maximum transparency to ensure true public oversight of government, we acknowledge that these videos present privacy concerns. However, there are ways to balance personal privacy, the interests of law enforcement, and government transparency.  A full exemption covering all videos is the result that makes the least sense.

  “Police departments around the country are introducing body cameras as a response to complaints from the public about abusive and illegal actions by police officers, and calls for more oversight of law enforcement.  Routine use of body cameras will engender public trust. But D.C. residents will remain suspicious of law enforcement if a blanket exemption denies them meaningful oversight of police actions in their neighborhoods. The public perception that the Metropolitan Police Department will release videos when it casts officers in a good light, but withhold videos that are embarrassing or reveal misconduct, will negate the goal of restoring public confidence in the MPD. A full exemption of the type being proposed will limit, if not defeat, a major purpose of the body camera program.

  “For this reason we believe the Council should only consider FOIA exemptions when proposed in single-issue bills or in conjunction with other transparency related measures.  FOIA gets to the heart of the public’s ability to participate in and oversee the actions of government.  Enacting any FOIA exemption via generalized legislation, such as the Budget Support Act, creates a very real threat that the views of D.C. residents about the FOIA exemption will receive meaningful consideration. If the exemption is enacted, which is likely, the public will then be denied access to the newly exempt government information. The public needs to be heard before an exemption becomes law so that it can be heard later about government actions revealed by the records at issue.

  “Enactment of FOIA exemptions – especially the proposed body camera video exemption – requires consideration of multiple factors that will be raised by a variety of stakeholders.  That is why the Council, in 2010, tasked the Office of Open Government’s with making recommendations for changes in the law. The DCOGC has repeatedly urged in testimony that the Council vet proposed FOIA exemptions through the Office before introducing transparency legislatio.  That review is critical in this instance because the proposed amendment, buried in the Budget Support Act, represents a 180-degree change in MPD policy. The MPD’s current Special Order relating to the Body-Worn Camera Program informs officers to comply with the DC FOIA (meaning they should assume videos will be released unless an existing exemption applies).

  “Moreover, many interested groups with relevant expertise have expressed concern about how the Police Department will collect, retain, use and disclose these videos. Each of those issues bears on the public’s right to know.  Council consideration of the body camera video issue would benefit significantly from their input.  If the proposed exemption remains in the Budget Services Act, this important issue is unlikely to receive the scrutiny it deserves.

  “We urge you to remove the section of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Act which exempts body camera videos from release through the DC FOIA so that the issue may be considered in full via individual hearings before the Judiciary Committee and the Council.