This is reposed from from Equal Future
Yesterday, the ACLU of Northern California sued the Hayward Police Department for charging “unlawful and excessive costs … [for] disclosing body worn camera footage requested under the California Public Records Act (PRA).” According to the lawsuit, the Hayward PD required the National Lawyers Guild to pay $2,938.58 for access to body-cam footage from December 2014 demonstrations related to the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in which protesters were injured. Alan Schlosser, Senior Counsel with the ACLU of Northern California, argues that “[s]uch a hefty price tag will put these public records beyond the reach of most Californians, including journalists investigating possible instances of excessive force by police.” Read our coverage of Texas’ new body-worn camera law, which has its own cost-of-access issues.
