Tulsa World: State one of few to hold back videos

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State one of few to hold back videos
Many others release troopers' film to public.

The Watch Guard dash camera is used in DPS/OHP cars in Oklahoma. Steve Gooch / The Oklahoman

By CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writer
Published: 6/21/2009 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 6/21/2009 6:34 AM

View the Ohio State Patrol’s online video gallery.

Oklahoma is in the minority among regional states when it comes to releasing highway patrol videos shot from cameras mounted on the vehicle dashboards.

Texas, Missouri and Arkansas all treat state police dash camera videos as an open record, in contrast to Oklahoma where all trooper camera videos are closed to the public, a World survey of regional states found.

Arkansas State Police release its videos to the public after a case reaches the initial court stages, said Bill Sadler, public information officer for the Arkansas State Police.

The Texas Department of Public Safety releases video taken by trooper dash cameras after an investigation has been completed, said Tom Vinger, Texas DPS spokesman.

In Missouri, state officials release dash camera videos after a case has been adjudicated, a spokesman said.

Police dash camera videos are a relatively new record phenomenon. In Oklahoma, dash camera videos were considered public records until 2005, when the Department of Public Safety requested the state Legislature amend the Open Records Act to make all video and audio records closed to the public.

The amendment, contained in a bill with many exemptions requested by DPS, sailed through the Legislature with little fanfare.

The issue came to light a few weeks ago

when media organizations began requesting a copy of the dash video camera recording of a May 24 encounter between an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper and a Creek Nation paramedic. The patrol initially refused a Tulsa World request to release the video and then later released it late on a Friday night.

OHP spokesman Capt. Chris West said the agency requested the audio and video recordings be closed to the public in 2005 largely out of concerns for both trooper safety and the privacy of residents.

"I can assure you it's not about secrecy; it's confidentiality," West said.

But West added that "everything is subject to change," when asked if the agency believed video and audio recordings should continue to be exempt from open record requests.

"I'm sure our administrators will be amenable to sit down with whether it be legislators or anybody else to maybe review it to see if it needed to stay this way or maybe there needed to be some modifications," West said.

Laws vary among states

Kansas has a law similar to Oklahoma's when it comes to dealing with dash camera videos.

"We do not release them," said Lt. Robert Baker, with the Kansas Highway Patrol.

In Colorado, the issue has not come up yet.

The Colorado State Patrol has not had dash camera cameras in its patrol vehicles until the past month, when four units assigned to immigration patrol were outfitted with the devices.

Colorado State Patrol spokesman Trooper David Hall said state law is "not particularly clear" as to the openness of the camera videos. He said the agency would most likely defer to a judge if pressed about the release of such a record.

In Ohio, the State Highway Patrol not only releases dash camera videos upon a request of the public, they go a step further and make them available on the Internet.

Found under an area on the agency's Web site called "Dash Cam Gallery," the videos are popular with the public, said Sgt. Karla Taulbee, a spokeswoman for the patrol.

The video gallery is the fifth most popular page on the Ohio State Patrol Web site. The video gallery page recorded 100,118 visits in 2008, statistics provided by the agency indicate.

Ohio shows drunks, more

"Basically as soon as our lights come on the cameras kick on — that's how it's set up — and then it's a public record from that point on," Taulbee said.

Ohio state law does include certain provisions that would permit the withholding of trooper videos, Taulbee said. For instance, a prosecutor can request that a video be withheld from the public if he can convince a judge that it would harm the case, she said.

Certain protected information such as addresses and the identity of confidential informants is redacted from videos before they are released to the public, Taulbee said.

Also, all inmate requests for trooper videos must be approved by a judge before they are fulfilled, Taulbee said.

The gallery includes several videos involving traffic stops involving suspected drunken drivers. Others show troopers pulling intoxicated drivers to safety after they stumbled into the oncoming traffic.

Other videos show troopers narrowly escaping injury from other out-of-control vehicles during a traffic stop.

Oklahoma Rep. John Carey, D-Durant, the House author of the exclusion, said it was in a bill that followed negotiations between the Oklahoma Press Association and the state Department of Public Safety.

Asked about the need for the exclusion, Carey said: "The only thing I can only assume at all is that could be a grave breach of public safety if the dash cams were made just readily available to anybody."

Carey said he had no opinion on whether or not OHP video and audio should be open to the public.

"I think we can sure look at it," Carey said.

Curtis Killman 581-8471
curtis.killman@tulsaworld.com By CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writer

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Sunday: Other states release trooper videos," which was published on 6/20/2009.

	Report Comment ReligionOfPeaceNot, Bixby (6/20/2009 3:24:59 PM) I suspect by this time next year the OHP will have a similar policy mirroring the surrounding states. This whole incident has reflected poorly on their organization and the initial refusal to release the video looked like they were trying to hide something.
	Report Comment Few Clothes, Austin, TX (6/20/2009 3:45:27 PM) I know Texas shows them and some pretty wild things go on. The APD tasing the 70 something woman was one. She deserved it.
	Report Comment tnt091605, (6/20/2009 3:46:59 PM) I agree that it can look like they are trying to hide something. But I understand an investigation was ongoing. Now that all video has been released, the trooper might not have used good judgement but had the legal right to do everything he did. And you can see that the paramedic in the rear of the ambulance was the problem. This has been not been good for Oklahoma. I hope the paramedic stops doing the talk show circuit and calling for the Troopers job or they should file charges against him and he will see that the Trooper had every legal right to do what he did.
	Report Comment LocalBoy, B.A. (6/20/2009 5:23:11 PM) There you go again. NO, the trooper had NO right to assault the paramedic who did NOTHING wrong. Geez, Mrs. Martin, we're not letting your maniac hubby off that easy.
	Report Comment sirwinston, (6/20/2009 5:54:51 PM) I think the trooper needs to be indicted by a grand jury. I'm trying to see if we can get this done. He must be held accountable.
	Report Comment Few Clothes, Austin, TX (6/20/2009 6:12:52 PM) I just saw the trooper/ambulance fiasco on MSNBC news. Another black eye for Oklahoma.
	Report Comment justiceawaits, Claremore (6/20/2009 6:18:22 PM) sirwinston, I made that same suggestion a couple of days ago. Good luck with Your petetion. That trooper has no business wearing a badge. Most state troopers are not like that, but some are, and they need to know they will be held accountable for their actions and face criminal charges if they break the law.
	Report Comment oldrustytulsa, Tulsa (6/20/2009 6:44:59 PM) Yeah, looks like the OHP has got something to hide.
	Report Comment ajohnb, Jenks (6/20/2009 6:57:26 PM) Release them whether an investigation is going on. It is a public record. The investigation can continue while it is released. Not releasing it ALWAYS makes it look like they are hiding something or trying to alter it.
	Report Comment Few Clothes, Austin, TX (6/20/2009 8:01:38 PM) The public deserves to see these videos asap in order to see if the person is drunk, on drugs, belligerent, cooperative, who was responsibe for the accident, where the neighborhood was that had a shooting or fight, and many other things that the newspaper only gives a partial story and if it's biased.
	Report Comment Webmeister, Tulsa (6/20/2009 8:10:12 PM) Didn't the OHP get a law passed to EXEMPT dashcam video's from the Oklahoma Open Records Act?
	Report Comment Woofenburger, Hominy (6/20/2009 9:11:39 PM) In all things dealing with State government transparency is the friend of the honest employees. Darkness and collusion are the friends of those doing wrong.
	Report Comment scooter2, (6/20/2009 10:19:24 PM) I am not surprized that Oklahoma doesn't release these videos, theres alot of corruption in Law Enforcement. Maybe now that this is gained national attention it will be addressed more and if they know the tapes will be made public, they'll treat people better. They release em real well though if a citizen is caught on them.. You know it amazes me I live in a state called THE BIBLE BELT.. Seems like all that means is they know the Bible around here BUT they sure don't know the AUTHOR. There is alot of Difference..
	Report Comment marc57, Tulsa (6/21/2009 12:24:32 AM) you know you can't get rid of him. if they fire the guy some local city will hire him instantly they like this kind of cop
	Report Comment missy,,,m, no thanks (6/21/2009 4:13:21 AM) Ya know,these incidents are really pretty pathetic when it comes to the public and how people percieve the way law enforcement handles law situations.It also makes it very difficult for them to do their job because if the people dont trust you,when there is a crime noone wants to offer any information,people tend to forget that these jobs are highly stressful.So I think it was just a bad incident that really on both parties just need to shake hands and go to there own corner.Ive never been disrespected by the highway patrol,they have always handled themselves very professional.But that goes to show ya how to handle the public and the public should know how to handle themselves also.....Im more fearful of the citizens on patrol more than anything,yikes have ya seen the far off look in there eyes.In small words ya shouldnt might ought not to play around with the law,cause they have no humor....they are like some of these church ladies,yikies.....Glad Im at home and I aint gonna miss nothin.
	Report Comment olddude, tulsa (6/21/2009 6:53:36 AM) they will only release the tape if it reflects good for them,other wise they can have the tape altered to show they did nothing wrong.
	Report Comment taj1958, Henryetta (6/21/2009 7:18:37 AM) All Police videos should be PUBLIC RECORDS.why? because we have to many CROOKED COPS out there. What are they hideing from the public?
	Report Comment Webmeister, Tulsa (6/21/2009 8:22:02 AM) "Oklahoma Rep. John Carey, D-Durant, the House author of the exclusion, said it was in a bill that followed negotiations between the Oklahoma Press Association and the state Department of Public Safety." Oh, Really? The Oklahoma Press Association AGREED to the exclusion of audio and video recordings from the Oklahoma Open Records Act? I find that very unlikely, Mr. Democrat Durant.
	Report Comment TulsaOkie, Tulsa (6/21/2009 8:24:00 AM) If they have nothing to hide, they should release the (public property) videos to the public.
	Report Comment Graychin, Eucha (6/21/2009 9:30:45 AM) "I can assure you it's not about secrecy; it's confidentiality." OK - that clears it up. An OHP officer is a public servant doing state work, encountering citizens in public places. Nothing that happens in the course of a traffic stop is confidential information. Of course it should all be part of the public record. Unless someone has something to hide. Perhaps the Republican-controlled legislature will correct this flaw next session, now that the Ten Commandments matter has been settled.
	Report Comment justiceawaits, Claremore (6/21/2009 9:35:07 AM) Fair is fair, If they are allowed to be used for evidence in court for prosecution of the accused, the need to be allowed to prove innocence. Criminals are people of habit, putting the dash cam videos on the web may very well expose the face of someone who has commited another crime and not been charged yet. I can think of several good reasons that the videos should be a matter of public record. Giving the OHP exclusive rights to the videos promotes abuse of power and should not be tolerated.
	Report Comment Kilgore.Trout, Tulsa (6/21/2009 9:51:53 AM) The OK Legislature is a bunch of morons run by rural Okies on the tit of big agri. business. Isn't Durant a huge speed trap in line with Atoka? Interesting the bill would originate from there.
	Report Comment fcol, (6/21/2009 9:52:25 AM) Seems OK likes to stand out. Many of us wish they'd choose to stand out for the right reasons. If I or anyone I care about is ever pulled over by a bully with a badge, I'd want every moment of that encounter to be public. Transparency is a good thing.
	Report Comment Carl, Henryetta (6/21/2009 10:12:26 AM) There is a double standard here. I have read in local newspapers as well as seen on TV news - "suspects" names released and details of arrests made all the time. They certainly don't seem to hesitate to shine the public spotlight on ALLEGED criminals. I do not see how releasing a video taints an investigation. The public viewing it doesn't ALTER anything. I think the public has a RIGHT to know what our public servants are up to. We, the taxpayers, PAY for the cameras, the vehicles, the guns, the badges, the salaries, etc. It's not the fault of the public if the officer(s) involved face public scorn as a result of what they do in OUR NAME. PUBLIC service opens an individual up to PUBLIC SCRUTINY as it should be. Keeping a video SECRET (or confidential as the euphemism goes) equates OUR police to SECRET POLICE - that's simply not the AMERICAN WAY, people. That's the NAZI WAY.
	Report Comment LocalBoy, B.A. (6/21/2009 12:11:54 PM) "The OK Legislature is a bunch of morons run by rural Okies on the tit of big agri. business." EXACTLY! I was beginning to think I was the only one that understood that!

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