Yellow Scene sues Boulder for not promptly releasing footage of shooting

Yellow Scene Magazine, an alternative newsweekly based in Boulder, Colorado, has filed a lawsuit against the city government for failing to release unedited body camera footage of a police officer-involved shooting that occurred on December 17, 2022. According to a report by the Daily Camera, a local newspaper, the lawsuit was filed in Boulder District Court on January 20, 2023.

The incident in question took place on December 17, when Boulder police officers responded to a report of a man brandishing a gun in the area of Folsom Street and Arapahoe Avenue. Upon arrival, officers encountered a man identified as 30-year-old Robert Dearth, who allegedly refused to comply with their commands and brandished a firearm, leading to an officer-involved shooting.

Dearth was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and no officers were reportedly injured in the incident. The Boulder Police Department (BPD) released a statement shortly after the incident, stating that body cameras from the officers involved in the shooting had been activated and that the footage would be made public once it had been reviewed by the Boulder County District Attorney's Office and other relevant agencies.

However, more than a month after the incident, Yellow Scene Magazine filed a request under Colorado's Open Records Act to obtain the unedited body camera footage, as well as other records related to the incident. The request was denied by the BPD, citing ongoing investigations and the potential for harm to the involved officers and witnesses if the footage were released prematurely.

In response, Yellow Scene filed a lawsuit seeking a court order compelling the release of the footage and other records related to the incident. The lawsuit argues that the public interest in transparency outweighs any potential harm to individuals involved, and that the delay in releasing the footage violates the Colorado Open Records Act.

The lawsuit also notes that other law enforcement agencies in Colorado, such as the Denver Police Department and the Colorado State Patrol, have released body camera footage from officer-involved shootings within days or weeks of the incidents, and that there is no reason why Boulder cannot do the same.

The case is currently pending in Boulder District Court, and a hearing has been scheduled for February 2023 to consider the request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to release the footage. The outcome of this case could set a precedent for how law enforcement agencies in Colorado handle the release of body camera footage in the future.