FLAGSTAFF, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – Police body camera footage plays an important role in investigations and, until recently, could be requested by anyone with no fees required. But a new Arizona law that took effect last October now allows cities to implement their own hourly fees for people to obtain body camera footage.
Flagstaff police officers were some of the first in the state to strap on body cameras almost a decade ago. After years of providing footage to people with no fees, that could soon change. “When looking at fees with the city of Flagstaff, we look at cost of recovery and consider the cost of providing services to customers.” Management Services Director Rick Tadder said.
The new law allows local governments in the state to charge people for publicly requesting body camera footage up to $46 an hour.
The city of Flagstaff is looking to implement the maximum fee and held the first public forum on the topic during Tuesday’s city council meeting. “Based on the state law, we’d like to ask to recover the fee of $46 per video hour redacted,” Flagstaff Chief of Police Dan Musselman said.
From July 2022 to July 2023, the Flagstaff police department received 136 requests for body camera footage, which they said took more than 200 hours just to review — not including redaction and download time. The new fees will help offset the costs involved with the video requests. The $46 is only if the video requested is a full hour, as smaller videos will cost less.
This new law is also impacting Coconino County. The sheriff’s body camera footage was $85 an hour, but the supervisors just approved to lower the price to abide by the new law.
However, not everyone is supportive of these fees. Chris Kline, president of the Arizona Media Association, said he understands it takes time and resources, but hourly fees aren’t the way to go. “When it’s built in such a way that the funds or the cost could run up very quickly, it starts to raise the questions of whether or not these fees become the reason why someone can’t get access to public footage.”
But at the end of the discussion, Flagstaff City Council voted to move forward and charge people the maximum fee. The city council will vote to officially adopt the fee increase in early February, and if approved, then the fees will be put in place in March.
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