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Kia Farhang
St. Paul, Minn.

Duluth police can't withhold body camera video, state says

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A state agency has ruled Duluth police can't temporarily block public access to video shot on officers' body cameras in private places.

The Friday ruling by the Minnesota Department of Administration comes after several Duluth news outlets requested video depicting an August incident inside a home where a police officer shot a man wielding a knife. The man was injured but survived.

The city asked the state last week to temporarily classify video from inactive investigations as private. It didn't mention the August shooting, instead broadening its request to include video recorded in hospitals, private homes and other situations.

"Body cameras provide a useful tool for law enforcement," the application said. "However, the technology is advancing faster than the law. As a result, there are compelling concerns regarding citizen privacy."

In a letter to the city dated Dec. 19, Department of Administration Commissioner Matt Massman said Minnesota law already classifies inactive investigative data as public, with some exceptions. He said the upcoming legislative session is the appropriate place to ask for a change in that law.

Duluth Police Department public information officer Ron Tinsley said on Monday that he hadn't seen Massman's letter and couldn't comment on it. The department has had few requests for body camera video since beginning its program in July, he said.

Duluth was one of the first police departments in Minnesota to outfit officers with body cameras. Minneapolis began a pilot program for body cameras last month, citing a need for greater transparency and a need to improve the public's trust in officers.

President Barack Obama earlier this month proposed a $263 million spending package to strengthen community relations with police nationwide, $75 million of which would put an estimated 50,000 more body cameras into police hands. Nationwide protests have called for more oversight after two high-profile deaths of unarmed civilians by police.