Anchorage police would publicly release body camera footage of officer shootings and other “critical incidents” within 45 days under a new draft of the department’s body camera policy.
The Anchorage Police Department released the draft on Friday, and a spokesperson says it still needs to be signed.
The addition of a timeline to the policy follows mounting public pressure for the release of body camera footage after a string of five police shootings in the last two months that left three people dead. These were the first police shootings since officers began wearing the cameras.
Rich Curtner is an attorney with the Alaska Black Caucus, one of the organizations that pushed for police body cameras. He said his organization has advocated for a shorter timeline on the release of footage.
“I think 30 days would be better than 45 days,” Curtner said, “but at least it’s a lot better than the open-ended discretion of the chief.”
APD officials declined an interview request, saying the policy is still a draft.
Police Chief Sean Case was appointed by newly elected Mayor Suzanne LaFrance three weeks ago, and said establishing a timeline for the release of police body camera footage was a top priority.
In a statement, LaFrance called public safety the “number one job of local government.”
“It was a priority for my administration coming in to support and expedite an update to APD’s Body Worn Camera Policy,” LaFrance said. “I commend APD and Chief Case for the work they do, and for moving swiftly toward a practical policy that allows for the release of footage while protecting criminal investigations.”
Under the current policy, the release of body camera footage is unilaterally up to the police chief. The new draft policy would allow the police chief to delay release of footage under specific circumstances. Curtner said Case told the Alaska Black Caucus that one example would be if a shooting victim is being charged with a homicide.
“That might be a case that gets complicated,” Curtner said. “Because if that person is charged with homicide, and then that’s part of the evidence of the shooting, then it may come into play as far as his rights.”
The policy also allows families of the victims of police shootings to request to privately view the footage two weeks after the incidents. The change follows calls from the family of Kristopher Handy to view the footage of police fatally shooting him. Handy was shot after police say he pointed a long gun at officers, though private security footage has called that claim into question.
The draft policy says families would not be allowed to record the footage during the private viewings, and the requests would be at the discretion of the police chief.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
