Pennsylvania Court Rules In Favor Of Access To Police Videos

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's highest court is providing public access to dash camera video footage unless the police agency can prove it amounts to criminal investigative material and may be redacted.

The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 2 on Tuesday in favor of a lower-court decision granting access to video shot by the dash cameras of two state troopers' vehicles as they responded to a 2014 accident near State College.

The majority says police mobile vehicle recorders, as a general rule, aren't exempt from public disclosure.

State police argued videos should be exempt under the Right-to-Know Law and a state law regarding criminal records.

The decision says the only part of the recordings that is potentially investigative is audio from witness interviews, portions that had been ordered redacted by a lower court.