In just a few short years, body cameras have become a key part of a police officer’s uniform.
San Diego police officers are now outfitted with them and since 2016, the San Diego County district attorney’s office has received more than 100,000 body-camera videos.
But even though local leaders promoted the cameras as a tool to build community trust, getting access to the actual footage can be virtually impossible.
For one, law enforcement officials largely won’t release footage even if someone requests it under state open records laws. They say it shouldn’t be easy to access.
There are, however, some exceptions.
One of them involves being directly connected the crime. The DA can also decide to release footage publicly in individual cases.
On this week’s San Diego Explained, Voice of San Diego’s Ashly McGlone and NBC 7’s Monica Dean go over all the narrow circumstances in which someone can view body camera footage.