How To Get BodyCam Footage

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Have you requested the Bodycam Footage.

I am going to show you the 3 most common ways to obtain bodycam footage, and everything else you should be requesting.
each state’s laws are different. Privacy rights, victims rights and many other exemptions may prohibit the release of the records, or may cause them to be heavily censored.

Not all agencies have bodycams or dashcams. So it’s important to request everything. Even if they don’t have it.

Bodycam footage is great, but it doesn’t always tell the entire story.
When making an open records request, or a FOIA request, The following should be included:
All officers' names and badge numbers that were involved in the incident.
All bodycam footage from every officer involved.
All dashcam footage from each vehicle on scene.
Any 911 or non-emergency call recordings related to the incident.
Recorded dispatch and radio traffic. Be sure to request 3-5 minutes of record before and after the incident.
All written reports from every officer that was present. Be sure to request copies of the officer’s Field Interview Notebooks as well.
Finally, any video, audio, picture or notes taken on an officer's personal device during the incident.

First is the most common. An open records or FOIA request can be submitted by anyone, to any government agency.

Most police departments or municipalities have a website that allows us to file an electronic request, and should have a link to their fee schedule as well. If not, requests can be made in person or by fax or mail.

The forms, whether electronic or paper are pretty straight forward. When filling them out, be as specific as possible. It is common for records rooms to omit anything they can, but they will rarely hand over something you don’t request. DUH.

Make sure you also specify in what form you want your records, and how they’re to be delivered.

Fill out the necessary parts, click send, hand deliver it or lick a stamp.

Again, the laws are different in each state, so response time requirements may vary.

The next two methods only apply if you’re involved in an active court case. If you’ve hired a lawyer, they should be charging you tons of money to do this, but if you haven’t, or you want to make their job easy and ensure they’re being proficient, here’s method #2- Discovery.

Discovery is a pre-trial procedure where you can obtain evidence from the other parties.

There are many ways discovery can occur, but the most common way I’ve personally used, is by going to the courthouse and finding the prosecutor's office. Some court houses even have a discovery office that focuses on disseminating evidence to each party.

Write up your request, including everything we discussed in part 1, and turn it in to the prosecutor or discovery office.

It’s important to note that they may not have entered everything you’re requesting into evidence. Even if the records exist.

For example, on a recent speeding ticket I beat, The prosecutors office didn’t have the dispatch recording or certificates of service for the radar gun, because they knew that those 2 pieces of evidence could (and did) work against their case. Click this link to see how I beat the case.
So what do we do now if The police department won’t release the bodycam footage because it’s involved in an ongoing investigation, and the footage can't be obtained through discovery because it hasn’t been submitted as evidence?

Don’t worry, You still have one more step.

A subpoena duces tecum, or subpoena for production of evidence, is a court summons ordering the recipient to appear before the court and produce for use at a hearing or trial. The summons is known by various names in different jurisdictions.

I went to the clerks desk at the municipal courthouse where my case was being tried, and requested a form to submit a subpoena duces tecum.

after filling it out, a court date was made for the following week and I appeared before the judge with the prosecutor to review the request.

If approved, they will order the production of whatever records you’ve requested, and a deadline for when they shall be delivered to you.

#BodyCam #OpenRecords #FOIA