From Seattle Weekly:
The dashcam video—once sparse, now widespread—is the new vulnerability for police officers who go too far. Once entered into a court record and made public (or leaked to the media), videos become the measure by which the average TV and online viewer judges, rightly or wrongly, the Seattle Police Department. Their release is something SPD would prefer to avoid. That seems the more likely reason why City Hall is suing James Egan for asking to see cops on film.
This draconian reaction—hauled to court by the government for requesting public records—is the work of Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. He says he's seeking "guidance" from the courts, arguing that the videos taken by public servants in public places is somehow private information.
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