A recent decision by the Colorado Court of Appeals has set a significant precedent for police transparency in the state. The court ruled that the City of Boulder cannot impose fees for accessing body camera footage tied to complaints of officer misconduct, a move hailed by advocates as a crucial step forward in accountability efforts.
This verdict stems from a lawsuit initiated by Yellow Scene Magazine against Boulder. The publication challenged the city’s demand for over $8,000 to release body camera footage from a December 2023 incident in which officers fatally shot Jeanette Alatorre. The lawsuit claimed that such fees effectively prevented public access to the footage.
Legal representatives for civil rights groups contended that these charges contravened the 2020 Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, a statute implemented in response to nationwide protests calling for police reforms. This law mandates that agencies must release footage within 21 days when a misconduct complaint arises, without any stipulation for charging fees.
Matthew Simonsen, an attorney with Grata Law and Policy LLC representing Yellow Scene, emphasized, “Today’s ruling reaffirms what should have been obvious to Boulder when this lawsuit was filed two years ago — police departments can’t use exorbitant fees to hide their officers’ misconduct behind a paywall.”
The City of Boulder, represented by spokesperson Sarah Huntley, acknowledged the court’s decision and is exploring potential legal responses, including a possible appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.
The city’s defense centered on the necessity of fees to offset costs related to editing footage for privacy concerns, citing the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, which allows agencies to charge “reasonable fees” for records. Boulder also argued that an “unfunded mandate” law absolved it from obligations due to the lack of state funding for footage review and production.
However, the appellate court rejected these justifications. The judges clarified that the fee allowance in the criminal justice records law pertains only to requests under that specific statute, not the accountability-focused legislation. The court noted the more recent and targeted nature of the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, highlighting its intentional omission of a fee clause. As Judge Stephanie Dunn pointed out, “The conspicuous absence of a fee provision in the Integrity Act is telling. After all, the General Assembly knows how to include a fee provision if it intends one.”
Chief Judge Gilbert M. Román and Judge Craig R. Welling supported the ruling, which mandates Boulder to release the body camera footage related to the Alatorre case without charge. Alatorre was shot after reportedly wielding a gun, which was later identified as an air pistol resembling a 9-millimeter handgun. Despite officers using non-lethal rounds, she did not respond, resulting in lethal force being used.
The outcome of this ruling could significantly ease the process for Colorado residents to obtain video evidence of police use of force. An amicus brief from the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and the ACLU of Colorado highlighted the financial barriers journalists face in accessing body camera footage. Newsrooms, such as The Denver Post, often depend on footage voluntarily released by law enforcement due to prohibitive costs. In one instance, a journalist was quoted over $4,000 for similar footage, while another producer mentioned that high fees could severely restrict access to public records.
Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, remarked on the ruling’s importance: “This is a very significant win for police transparency and accountability in Colorado. Without this ruling, agencies could charge hundreds or thousands of dollars for bodycam footage depicting possible officer misconduct. What would have been the point of a law requiring the disclosure of such footage if news organizations and the public couldn’t afford to pay for it?”
