A provision that was tucked into what’s known as the Christmas tree bill earlier this week would charge media and others seeking police bodycam video $75 an hour for production of it. And that’s raising questions about police accountability.
Rep. Sean Brennan (D-Parma) said he’s talked to Parma Police officers about providing bodycam footage to the public.
“They told me they could literally spend the rest of their lives going through all of these videos for primarily folks to monetize bodycam footage on the internet,” Brennan said.
Brennan said in addition to requests from reputable media outlets, social media content providers are making a lot of requests for bodycam tape. And Brennan noted the process of releasing bodycam video involves going through it to redact material that is not subject to public records laws - which he said takes time.
However, Brennan said the public and news outlets should be able to get redacted footage because the public has a right to know.
Brennan is frustrated with the process of passing legislation during the lame duck session. He said a lot of legislation, like this provision, doesn’t get proper vetting from people who are affected by the law.
Media outlets are opposed to the proposal and are asking Gov. Mike DeWine to line-item veto it.
Ohio Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Mike Weinman said his organization was not consulted about the bill before it passed. And he has some questions about how it would be applied.
Brennan said if it’s vetoed by DeWine, lawmakers should sit down with police agencies and other stakeholders to develop a solution that provides public accountability.
