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I think that already requires some legal knowledge poor families might not have. I’m not American so I don’t know the procedure, correct me if I’m wrong, but issuing a subpoena doesn’t feel like an easy thing from what I read.
I can see why you would think that, but that's really not the case. What I'm explaining is more a technicality than anything.
The family thinks the police did something wrong. They express that belief to someone. That someone is an investigator. It might be a prosecutor, it might be an attorney, it might be the executor of the deceased's estate, or a victim's advocate, or their insurance agent, or the sheriff, or the FBI... It might first go to the press or a family friend, but it is going to quickly be referred to some investigator or another. (This is all assuming the family isn't investigating directly; they certainly have the right to conduct the investigation themselves, and file a motion for a subpoena)
The investigator(s) assigned to the case will have need for all the evidence, and they will be the ones drafting the subpoena. The family can request the video from the investigator, or subpoena it directly, but the video will only be released with a subpoena.
Let me put it a different way:
"I am a family member of the deceased" is not enough to get the video.
"I am a family member of the deceased, and I think their death was suspicious" is enough to get a subpoena, and thus the video.
That’s reassuring, but then I’m confused by this:
If getting the footage is relatively easy, why can’t those videos be released even if the families want it? Am I misreading it and is the situation more “families have the video, but not the clearance to show it to the public”?
First, I described what I think the law should be, not what the law actually is. Under the current law, authorities are free to release the videos to the public for any reason. Under current law, families are free to release the videos to the public for any reason.
Second, ProPublica went to lengths to obfuscate the issue. The only videos that families aren't being allowed to release to the general public are those that are still under investigation. Charges can still be filed, and a jury constituted to determine the facts of a case. Releasing a video to the public can contaminate the jury pool, and prevent the family from getting justice.
Third, ProPublica only distinguishes between families who have and have not released videos. They do not ask whether a family wants such a video released. I can imagine plenty of circumstances where a family would not want the public to see how their loved one died.
Okay, I missed the first point before, thanks.
So about the second one, you’re saying that those videos “even pleas from victims’ families don’t serve to shake loose” are all under investigation and the family can see them, but are forbidden from releasing them to the public because it would be detrimental to the process?
To the best of my knowledge, that is reasonably accurate. Note that I don't have specific knowledge of every single case: my claim is based on my general understanding of investigative procedure. The ProPublica article quietly mentions ongoing investigations as the reason why a video is not being released, but did not adequately explain either that this is routine procedure or the reason why such a procedure is necessary and proper.