KOMO wins public records victory in dispute with Seattle Police Department
The Washington State Supreme Court has determined that the Seattle Police Department violated Washington’s Public Records Act by not providing a list of retained videos recorded by dash cams on police cruisers. The list of videos was requested as part of a public records request by KOMO-TV reporter Tracy Vedder, which included a request for officer logs and specific video recordings. The Court did not find that the SPD violated the Act by refusing to provide log sheets corresponding to their dash cam videos, because the request was too broad and the department did not keep such logs anymore. The Court also established that the police department could refuse to provide certain videos if they contained material that were subject to certain statutory exceptions, like those which protect private recorded conversations.
TVSpy has a synopsis here. You can read the Order here.
NB: The Court awarded KOMO its attorney’s fees and remanded for further proceedings.