Colorado Court Ruling on Release of Body Camera Video

On June 9th, a Colorado judge ruled that the Aurora Colorado Police Department violated the Colorado Law Enforcement Integrity Act (CLEIA) by refusing to release all unedited body-worn camera video of a fatal officer-involved shooting incident. The case focused on the meaning of the words "incident" and "uneditied". You can read this article from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press summarizing the case. The court's ruling is 13 pages long and I encourage all law enforcement leaders and records managers, regardless of state, to read both the article and the court ruling. I have written and spoken many times in the past cautioning agencies about misinterpreting a state's intent for the release of body camera video. I am well aware of the CLEIA having worked with a client agency in Colorado. It was clear to me then on what CLEIA meant by both an "incident" and "unedited". Quite a few agencies around the country have been in the news for attempting to, as the media or special interests groups have called it, use exemptions or preceived loopholes in state to law "hide" body camera video from public disclosure. I certainly do not know the rationale behind the Aurora Police Department's decision to not release the entire video(s) after seven requests to do so. The lawsuit indicates that the force investigation on the May 23, 2024 shooting had been completed and that the 21 day release window had clearly passed. However, I find interesting that 1) the department allowed a lawsuit to be brought and go to court over the definition of two words and 2) the only official from the department that was at the hearing was the records manager. Where were the legal or leadership representatives for the department? Finally, you can be assured that if an Appeals Court eventually rules in the department's favor a future legislative session will certainly take corrective action. Bottom line: Have a very good legal reason for not complying with your state's laws. Quibbling over the meaning of words probably isn't a sound strategy.