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A new Ohio law took effect April 8, creating specific guidelines for openness involving police body camera videos now being recorded by officers in many Ohio jurisdictions, including some in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
While the new guidelines were sorely needed, the law, Ohio House Bill 425, creates new exemptions to the ever-growing list of previously open public records that now are closed to the media and, hence, to the public.
The new body camera law exempts from disclosure body camera footage that captures dead or grievously injured bodies (unless the death or injury was caused by an officer or the decedent's executor consents to its release); an act of severe violence against a person (unless the violence was done by a peace officer or the injured person's consent is obtained); nude bodies (unless consent is obtained); identifying information about alleged victims of sex offenses, stalking or domestic violence; personal information about someone who is not arrested, ticketed, charged or issued a warning by police; and the interior of a residence or private business, unless it is the location of an adversarial encounter with -- or a use of force by -- a police officer.
Indeed, this newspaper has supported the critical need for Ohio law to uniformly clarify questions on release of police body camera and dashboard video. Until now, that question was being settled by each jurisdiction creating its own rules, becoming open for interpretation by county prosecutors.
But the new exemptions create new limits in government transparency.
Ohio law presumes that government records shall be disclosed to the public upon request, unless they fall under an exemption. Over the years, lawmakers have shielded more records from public disclosure by adding exemptions. Frankly, Ohio's open records laws become less meaningful each time our state legislators find ways to create new exemptions to transparency.
When I started out as a reporter some 25 years ago, less than a dozen exemptions to Ohio's public record laws existed. Last year, there were more than 30 exemptions. Now, still more have been added, including the new regulations on police video camera release.
Now, I'm not here to say if the Tribune Chronicle received access to photos or video depicting a dead or seriously injured body, we would splash it across our front page. These are the types of issues reputable news organizations like the Tribune Chronicle debate, contemplate and deal with on a regular basis. Since the beginning of this year, for instance, I've been involved in decisions involving publication of a photo of a body being removed by first responders from a Trumbull County home and one showing farm animals that perished in a fire lying at the feet of local firefighters as they battled the blaze. We frequently receive Associated Press photos depicting death and destruction from terror attacks or other violence around the world.
Media often is accused of sensationalism or attempting to use photos depicting horrors to sell newspapers. But in all these incidents and others, I can tell you reporters, photographers and editors carefully weigh the news value, including the public's right to see the effects of crime or news events without censorship, versus the tastefulness of the photos and the impact these photos will have on those who read our newspaper.
I believe all reputable media has the same types of conversations before making decisions on disclosure. Further, most legitimate, upstanding media organization generally refrain from publishing names of sex crime victims or images depicting them. We also understand the ethical and legal concerns that come with publishing names of uncharged suspects.
In the sense of full disclosure, the legislation, Ohio House Bill 425, which received broad support from the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio and the ACLU of Ohio, also was supported by the Ohio News Media Association, a trade association and lobbying organization that represents many of Ohio's newspapers, including this one, despite the numerous new public access exemptions.