Fayetteville police refuse to release police dash cam video of officer-involved shooting

The Fayetteville Observer has reported that the Fayetteville police have refused to release a police dashboard camera video that may have captured an officer shooting a man as he fled in 2013. The article discusses the public records law and its application to dash cameras. SMVT attorney Amanda Martin is quoted:

Amanda Martin, the lawyer for the N.C. Press Association, said state law remains unclear on whether a police dash-cam video is a public record.

The law says circumstances surrounding an arrest are public. Martin argues that video from a dashboard camera is a clear way to show those circumstances.

“Certainly,” Martin said, “a video recording is the surest way for the public to have an accurate understanding of what took place in any given circumstance. And if the situation in North Charleston teaches us anything, it is that video recordings can be a check on statements made by any individual who is involved in a confrontation.”

You can read the entire article here.