footage could “inform the public’s strong interest in a police shoot-
ing that killed a civilian...without placing potential witnesses and
informants at risk” and could be released without undermining the
investigation because the investigators had already interviewed the
principal witnesses.
In another Appellate Division case we discussed in the Septem-
ber 2016 article, Paff v. Ocean County Prosecutor, 446 N.J. Super.
163 (App. Div. 2016), the court, in a 2-1 decision, concluded that the
dash-cam recording, which was made of the arrest of a suspect after
a motor vehicle chase, was not exempt from OPRA. An important
factor for the court was that the recording was automatically acti-
vated when the patrol car turned on its overhead lights and, there-
fore, preceded any criminal investigation. Because there was a dis-
sent, the case was appealed to the NJ Supreme Court, which heard
oral argument on Feb. 27. We expect the court will issue its decision
before the end of June.
And there is another case arising in Ocean County, Ganzweig v.
Lakewood, an unpublished Appellate Division decision also with
a dissenting opinion. The court followed the decision in Paff and
found that the dash-cam recording of a motor vehicle stop was not
exempt under OPRA. The court also sent th e case back to the trial
court for consideration of several issues, including whether disclo-
sure was required under the common law right of access. It is possi-
ble that this case will also end up in the Supreme Court once all the
issues are decided.
In sum, the attorney general’s directive is not yet in effect. Un-
less, and until, it does become effective, OPRA requests for BWC
and dash-cam recordings in all cases, including use-of-deadly-force
cases, will continue to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. The is-
sue is important, because balanced against the public’s interest in
disclosure of the video is the real possibility that snap judgments
will be made by the public based upon snippets of an incident that
do not tell the whole story. We will continue to keep the NJ State
PBA and its members advised of new cases and new developments
as they arise.d
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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