The Pennsylvania Supreme Court opened police dashcam footage to the public Wednesday, concurring with a lower court’s decision that the footage was subject to the state’s Right-To-Know law.
In a 5-2 decision, the court ruled that there is no blanket ban on public access to the footage, determining that each public request for police footage must be taken on a case-by-case basis, only allowing it to be withheld if police can prove that the footage is part of an investigation, the Morning Call reported.
Police department lawyers are reportedly analyzing the ruling, police spokesman Ryan Tarkowski said. However, advocates for police transparency are already hailing the ruling as a victory.
“Citizens should care because it gives them the ability to access police dash camera video, which will help them understand police interaction in the community and provide accountability,” a Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association spokesperson told the Morning Call.
The Pennsylvania ACLU declined to comment on the ruling.
The case originated in 2014 when a woman requested police dashcam footage after her friend was involved in a fatal car accident. While the case only pertained to dashcam footage, the ruling also granted access to other forms of police footage, such as body cameras.
Chief Justice Thomas Taylor and Justice Sally Updyke Mundy dissented from the decision, arguing that all police footage should be considered part of an investigation, even if it doesn’t lead to criminal charges.
The footage may not remain open to the public for long, however, as the Pennsylvania House passed legislation that would explicitly deny public access to police footage through the Right-To-Know law.
SB-560 gives police a wide latitude to withhold footage from public requests. The bill was sent back to the Senate Tuesday for approval of House changes.
“The reasons for denial will make it nearly impossible for the public or the press to ever obtain video produced by these cameras,” the ACLU said in a March statement about the bill.
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