D.C. Police Chief: Body Camera Videos Can't Be Redacted Easily

WASHINGTON (AP) -- D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says the technology doesn't exist to efficiently redact videos from police body cameras for release to the public.

Lanier and Mayor Muriel Bowser want to outfit every District of Columbia police officer with body cameras by the end of the year, but they're asking that the videos be exempt from the District's Freedom of Information Act. That request has opened up divisions with the D.C. Council. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie plans to draft new legislation that would make body-camera footage subject to public-records requests.

Lanier testified before McDuffie on Thursday that it would take 17 hours to redact a 4-minute video. She says public access to the videos can be addressed through regulations and that the FOIA exemption is the best approach for now.

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