Board Approves Expedited Video Release, But Sheriff Must Act

Police body camera. Photo by Ryan Johnson, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Milwaukee County Board wants the Milwaukee County Sheriff‘s Office (MCSO) to create a policy speeding up the release of video evidence following a critical incident, like an in-custody death at the Milwaukee County Jail or a shooting.

The board passed a resolution Thursday calling for a change to MCSO policy making video footage available to next of kin within 48 hours, and to the public within 15 days, whenever an officer injures or kills someone. It’s modeled after a policy already put in place by the City of Milwaukee’s Fire and Police Commission.

The city’s policy took effect in 2024 after being tied up in litigation by the Milwaukee Police Association for more than a year. Unlike the city, the county board does not have the authority to force the MCSO to implement the policy laid out in the resolution. However, supervisors that support the legislation explained they are trying to stake out a public position with hope the MCSO will respond in kind.

Sup. Juan Miguel Martinez sponsored the resolution. He told his colleagues at a meeting of the Milwaukee County Board Thursday that he thinks the county should be in lockstep with the city on this issue.

“We have a societal contract to people to be transparent with them, especially with incidents that involve deaths or critical incidents,” he said.

A minority of supervisors expressed opposition to the resolution.

Sup. Patti Logsdon sought to stall a board vote on the resolution, seeking instead to send it back to committee. Logsdon echoed arguments the MCSO has made against the policy, specifically that early release of video evidence could compromise an investigation.

Logsdon was joined by supervisors Kathleen Vincent, Felesia Martin, Steve Taylor and Deanna Alexander in voting against the resolution.

Martin told her colleagues that she couldn’t support the resolution because she had a family member killed by law enforcement and that the early release of partial video evidence led to an acquittal of charges against the officers.

Sup. Willie Johnson, Jr. noted that while the MCSO had previously articulated concerns about the policy, “the thrust of this is to cause something to happen.” The MCSO has the power to determine the details if it pursues a policy.

Other supervisors echoed Martinez’ argument that the resolution was geared toward greater transparency. When critical incidents occur, the families impacted and the public ” are looking for answers,” Sup. Sequanna Taylor said. A clearer policy on the matter could help the MCSO begin to rebuild trust, Sup. Jack Eckblad said.

Sup. Justin Bielinski noted that arguments about any damage the policy could do are rendered moot by the fact that the board doesn’t have the power to enforce it.

“I think we should take action to at least say, ‘Hey, if you’re willing to do this, we’re willing to work with you.’ Let’s make it as close to this as we can. Let’s improve transparency,” Bielinski said.

Any policy, really, is better than the system that exists today, which is video release entirely at the discretion of the MCSO, Sup. Shawn Rolland said. He added that community members have asked for a policy that isn’t entirely subjective for the MCSO.

“The decision shouldn’t be ‘Does it make the sheriff’s office look good? Then let’s release it.’,” Rolland said. “It should be based on a policy that’s based on some kind of threshold that’s met, whether it’s amount of days or whatever you want it to say, but it should be fair across the board and the scales should be changed in favor of the community more than it is today.”

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