Ohio Supreme Court Dismisses Body-Camera Lawsuit

COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio Supreme Court ruled today that a prosecutor was acting reasonably when he delayed releasing footage from a University of Cincinnati police officer's body camera. The footage captures part of a fatal shooting from July 2015, when an officer shot and killed a black motorist.

However, the court refused to render a decision on whether or not footage from a police officer's body camera is considered public record.

The lawsuit was brought by a conglomeration of media outlets including the Associated Press and the Cincinnati Enquirer after Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters waited six business days to release the footage to the press.

Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger wrote for the majority and concluded that Deters released the footage in a "reasonable" amount of time.

This decision comes shortly after the court ruled that police dash camera footage is public record, but may be redacted before it is released. That decision was the result of a lawsuit brought by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

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