The Colorado Court of Appeals has stayed a judge’s order to disclose blurred body-worn camera footage of Lakewood police officers shooting and killing a 17-year-old robbery suspect, pending the outcome of an appeal by the city.
Are Colorado law enforcement agencies allowed to charge the public thousands of dollars for body-worn camera footage of incidents of alleged officer misconduct?
A judge ordered the Lakewood Police Department to release blurred body-worn camera footage of officers shooting and killing a 17-year-old crime suspect in March 2023.
It could have been worse. While open-government losses far outnumbered wins in the 2024 session of the Colorado General Assembly, the death of a burdensome Colorado Open Records Act bill in the closing days helped make the final tally a little less one-sided.
A bill narrowly passed by a Colorado House committee includes a provision that prohibits law enforcement agencies from charging fees for unedited body-worn camera footage released to the public under the 2020 Law Enforcement Integrity Act.
Lawmakers did not, however, tackle the No. 1 barrier to obtaining public records in Colorado — exorbitant fees. And that problem will only get worse on July 1, 2024, when inflation boosts the maximum-allowable hourly rate to process CORA requests from $33.58 to a whopping $40 or $41.
Powerful new reporting by the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab) and news organization partners shines a light on gaps and weaknesses in Colorado’s recent legislative efforts to make law enforcement more transparent and accountable in our state.
A Colorado law that went into effect in 2021 sets a timetable for the public release of law enforcement body-worn camera footage of incidents “in which there is a complaint of peace officer misconduct.” But if an officer shoots and kills someone, and no one formally complains, does the footage-release provision apply?
An attorney for defendant Elroy Lee had invoked a provision in Colorado’s new body-cam footage law that permits objections to the public disclosure of recordings on constitutional grounds “if criminal charges have been filed against any party” to an incident.
Court rulings top CFOIC’s 2021 list of Colorado transparency highlights and lowlights, with the most impactful paving the way for a state law change that lets governments publicly name just one finalist for chief executive positions like university president, city manager and school superintendent.
