Detroit's city council has officially passed a law that requires the Detroit Police Department to release audio and video footage from incidents resulting in great bodily harm within 30 days. FOX 2 Detroit reports that the ordinance, introduced by Councilmember Angela Whitfield Calloway, was approved in an 8-1 vote on Tuesday. Calloway stated, "This ordinance brings true accountability and transparency to our city."
The new mandate allows exceptions for collective bargaining terms, court-ordered cases, or sensitive federal or state task force footage, and requires the Detroit Police Department to notify individuals depicted before releasing videos to the public. Detroit Police Commissioner Ricardo Moore described the ordinance as "legalized stonewalling of police transparency," according to The Detroit News. The policy follows the department’s practice of releasing officer-involved shooting videos within 45 days, a timeline that drew attention after the fatal shooting of Sherman Butler on July 12, 2024, when community members requested more timely access to footage of serious incidents.
Members of the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability and other activists addressed the Detroit City Council to express concerns over the recently approved police transparency ordinance, highlighting its numerous exceptions and the discretionary power it grants to city officials. Jacob Smith of the Detroit Alliance Against Racial and Political Repression told the council, "It has more holes than a fishing net," while advocating for rules that would require faster release of unedited footage and extend transparency to incidents causing or likely to cause injury. The Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability proposed an alternative ordinance that would make unedited footage, audio records, and police reports related to any use of force available to the public within seven days. Councilwoman Calloway defended the approved ordinance as a step forward and noted the potential for revisions, stating, "This is one of those documents that I do believe is ripe for amendment," as mentioned by MetroTimes.
