The problem is, even if every last police car in Seattle is equipped with a video camera, it's going to do little for police-community relations. That's because the public isn't going to get a chance to see the tapes. Unless the footage is the subject of a criminal or civil case, the tapes are deep-sixed in a police archive, due to a state law governing privacy. In Washington, both parties being recorded have to consent to being recorded. An exception passed by the state legislature in 2000 in order to allow police to tape people included a caveat that the tapes be essentially locked away, to protect the privacy of people who are filmed.
In other words, if there's a high-profile incident--such as a shooting, or a racial-profiling allegation--the media and the public cannot see the tape. (If the case goes to court, a judge decides if the taped evidence can be released to the public.) And even if you're stopped by the cops while the camera's rolling, and you later want to check out the footage--maybe because you're considering filing a complaint against the officer, but first want to review what happened--you're out of luck.
City Council Member Richard McIver, who's an advocate for cameras in all cars, doesn't like that policy. "If you can't see [the tape] to bear out the facts, then we've got a problem," McIver says. Seattle Police Department legal advisor Leo Poort says the department might be able to make an exception for someone who's the subject of a tape, but no one's tested the law yet by asking.
