That was the case when police chased a suspect into the prairie near Praise Assembly church only to have the man shoot first at the pursuing officers. And body cameras showed that two police officers repeatedly urged a mentally ill man to drop his weapons, even as he refused and kept coming at them.
“We’re in a new era of policing,” Pueblo police Chief Luis Velez said Thurs-
day. “Once we released those videos, it was case closed. I had no qualms about doing it.”
The Pueblo department has provided videos when sought by the news media under the Colorado Criminal Records Justice Act. The only caveat is the police have waited until the district attorney’s office has closed an investigation.
There hasn’t been a situation in Pueblo like the one in Charlotte, N.C., where violent protests over a police shooting have erupted. Protesters in Charlotte want police to release the video of the shooting incident.
Colorado’s criminal records law allows Velez to withhold investigative records — like videos — if he believes it would be “contrary to the public interest.”
“You have to balance the need for accountability with what’s going on in your community,” Velez said. “If I thought releasing a video would pour fuel on the fire and create more turmoil, I’d probably fall back on my responsibility to protect public safety and withhold it.
“But that’s not a decision I would make in a vacuum,” Velez added, saying he’d consult with City Manager Sam Azad.
Jeff Roberts, of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, said the state criminal records law allows police to withhold some information.
The coalition supports broad public access to police videos and other government records. “The videos aren’t considered records of official action, like an arrest report, which are public records,” Roberts said. “The courts have said the law should favor openness, but in some areas, this balancing test is allowed.”
Videos of police shootings and questionable arrests have triggered sometimes violent protests in a list of cities in the past two years.
The coalition reports that three states — Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina — have pushed back with new laws this year preventing or restricting the public release of police videos.
proper@chieftain.com
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