Proposed policy for bodycams could make Anchorage police video public within 45 days

The Anchorage Police Department is proposing policy changes that would call for bodycam footage of officer shootings to be released within 45 days and allow for families to view it even sooner.

Police Chief Sean Case released a draft version of the policy on Friday, several days after three Anchorage Assembly members also announced they intended to push for faster release of footage following a series of recent shootings.

Anchorage police have shot five people since May, killing three and wounding two. The shootings are the first in the city to be captured on body cameras since officers began wearing the technology in March. Anchorage voters in 2021 approved the technology and associated technology upgrades through a $1.8 million tax increase.

The department has not released footage of any of the shootings, despite mounting public pressure to do so. The policy that would be replaced should the draft become final states the chief “may proactively release” footage prior to the conclusion of an active criminal investigation or court proceeding.

It wasn’t immediately clear why Case chose 45 days as the timeframe for release. The department did not make him available for an interview.

During an online community meeting Sunday with the Alaska Black Caucus — an organization that’s advocated for timely and automatic release of footage — Case called the 45-day timeframe “a starting point” he’d like to see reduced but also described concerns over footage released in cases that involve criminal charges because of the potential to complicate prosecution.

“I think the sooner we can release the body camera footage, the better it is for the community,” Case said. “Forty-five days is still a long time to wait. It allows a lot of time for the public to let that anxiety grow as they get limited information.”

Previous police chief designee Bianca Cross cited a position from the Office of Special Prosecutions as a driving factor in her decision not to release footage from the recent spate of shootings. A spokeswoman for the state office that determines whether police should be criminally charged in shootings has said they have advised law enforcement agencies not to release such footage because it could jeopardize investigations.

Police department spokeswoman Renee Oistad did not answer questions about the draft policy this week, including where the 45-day schedule came from and how the draft policy addresses the state’s position.

“The policy is a draft,” she said in an email. “Please reach back out to us with your request once the policy has been signed. I do not have a date for you, but I anticipate next week sometime.”

[In a moment, an emotional night turned deadly: June Anchorage police shooting was 6th death since 2020]

According to the draft policy, the chief may withhold footage for more than 45 days if it’s deemed necessary to protect people involved, the integrity of an investigation, confidential sources, or the constitutional rights of those accused in any crime. Any delay must be explained in a detailed public statement and the footage must be released as soon as the reason for delay is resolved, it says.

The publicly released footage may not show “all the shots fired or moments immediately following shots fired,” the draft policy states.

The department’s revised draft also creates a new, “streamlined” process for up to six family members or representatives of someone shot by police to request a viewing of the footage starting 14 days after the incident. Under the policy, the viewing is private and the content of the video and audio must remain confidential.

Several Assembly members were expected to introduce a resolution addressing body camera policies Tuesday night.

Assembly members Meg Zaletel, Felix Rivera and Daniel Volland last week announced plans to introduce a resolution calling for changes including a 30-day release window for the most recent shootings and a provision to allow Kristopher Handy’s family to view video from his fatal shooting.

Handy was fatally shot outside his West Anchorage apartment in mid-May, the first in series of shootings involving police officers. Surveillance footage from a nearby apartment raised questions about the department’s description of the encounter. Police initially said Handy “raised a long gun” at officers before he was fatally shot. It isn’t clear from the video whether he raised the weapon.

The resolution was expected to change to reflect the draft policy released Friday, Zaletel said this week. An updated version wasn’t immediately available Tuesday.

Generally, Zaletel said, her questions about the draft policy include the lack of specifics when a request is denied and the footage is not released after 45 days. She also said 45 days is a long time for initial release, noting that the Alaska Black Caucus has pushed for a 10-day automatic release of footage.

An Assembly work session on the body-worn camera policy is planned for Friday. Case said during Sunday’s Black Caucus meeting that the policy will remain in draft form until after the session to allow for Assembly questions and public input.

The three Assembly members also plan to introduce an ordinance Tuesday that would require officers use body camera technology in accordance with department policy.

“Body-worn cameras are something that we have due to a tax-levy decision, but they’re not codified anywhere that they have to exist,” Zaletel said. “So that’s what the ordinance does, it says ‘We have this thing and it exists and it has to be operated per the policy.’”

A public hearing for the ordinance is scheduled for July 30.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that a proposed ordinance would add new body-worn camera standards to municipal code. The proposed ordinance would add no new policies but includes language that camera usage must comply with existing policy.