New policy requires NYPD to release body camera footage

The previous policy required that the department make videos involving force public if the police commissioner found it would address a specific “public concern” and “preserve peace.”

A new policy will require New York City police to release all body camera footage of shootings and other instances when force is used and injury or death occurs, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday in what he billed as an additional step toward police reform.

New York Police Department (NYPD) officers are pictured as protesters rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, US. (REUTERS)

The announcement regarding body cameras overturns a policy that gave the New York Police Department wide discretion on when it made the videos public. It came a day after the nation’s largest police department disbanded a plainclothes anti-crime unit long criticized for its aggressive tactics.

“Body-worn cameras are only as powerful as the transparency that comes with them,” de Blasio said. “This is a good thing for everyone involved. … When people see this kind of transparency, it will build trust.”

Starting in 2017, the NYPD began deploying 24,000 body cameras for its patrol force and other street units, the most in the nation. The previous policy required that the department make videos involving force public if the police commissioner found it would address a specific “public concern” and “preserve peace.”

The new policy calls for mandatory release of footage within 30 days if an officer fires a gun and hits someone or could have caused injury, uses a stun gun, or makes use of any other force that causes harm. The videos will be posted on the internet after civilians who were involved have seen it first, the mayor said.

A message was left Tuesday seeking comment from the Police Benevolent Association, the city’s largest police union.