Milwaukee, Wisconsin, police began using body-worn cameras in 2015, but the public’s access to footage is limited in the state, according to WTMJ-TV.
“We’re at the second phase of the battle,” said Attorney B’Ivory LaMarr, who represents the family of Joel Acevedo, who died after an off-duty police officer allegedly held him in a chokehold. “The first thing is to have the actual body cams, have the departments to have these cameras. The second thing is to actually have the information gleaned from the material accessible.”
A judge ruled the body-cam footage of the responding officers should be released, but the former police officer’s attorneys have appealed.
WTMJ reporters say police agencies across the state routinely deny their public records requests, and say authorities in neighboring states Illinois and Minnesota are more apt to release such recordings.