Who should have access to body camera footage in Colorado Springs?

Colorado Public Radio:  Many police departments, including dozens in Colorado, have adopted body cameras amid heightening tensions between civilians and sworn officers. They’re seen as a way of holding police and the public accountable when there are confrontations.

“It’s almost like having a third-party witness,” said Colorado Springs Police Sgt. Tim Stankey, whose department launched its program earlier this week. “Obviously, the camera isn’t going to lie.”

The cameras will also generate an enormous amount of data. The questions now are what to do with it, and who has access to it.

Colorado Springs’ program will start relatively small — 65 cameras are now being used by officers in the city’s southwest and downtown — before growing to nearly 500 cameras by the end of the year.

The department will delete non-controversial video after 30 days, Stankey said. Footage that becomes evidence in a criminal case will be kept for much longer.

“It’s my guess that there’s going to be some video that’s going to be kept forever,” Stankey said.

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