The Ohio Supreme Court says – with few exceptions – footage from police dash-cams are public records.
A unanimous state high court ruled today (Tuesday) that the Ohio Highway Patrol should have immediately released more than an hour of video from a 2015 police chase. The state had maintained the footage was confidential because it could contain evidence.
Jack Greiner is the attorney who sued the state on behalf of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He says making the video public is key to ensuring public oversight of police.
“It’s important I think for the media and the public to have access to that video to serve the role of watchdog and make sure the police officers perform their jobs in a professional and responsible and competent way.”
The decision does not affect body cameras. In a separate case, Greiner argued those, too, should be public. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled in that case.
