City of Akron requires body cam surveillance to be made public after deadly force or bodily harm

The City of Akron Ohio has just passed a law that requires body camera surveillance footage to be made available to the public within seven days if a police officer uses deadly force or causes great bodily harm to an individual.

The Akron City Council voted to enact the new law this week and Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said the move was an innovative step toward greater transparency to build trust between the community and police force.

In Ohio, body camera and dashboard camera footage are considered public records, but the state law gives departments broad discretion over what and when to release certain information. 

Akron's law will go into effect June 30, 2021.