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The Colorado Court of Appeals this week ruled that the City of Boulder cannot charge fees for body camera footage related to a complaint of officer misconduct, a decision supporters say is a major win for police transparency and accountability across Colorado.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Yellow Scene Magazine, which covers Boulder County and the Denver metro area, after the city required journalists to pay more than $8,000 for all body camera footage of a December 2023 shooting in which officers killed Jeanette Alatorre. The lawsuit argued the fees were “prohibitive,” effectively shielding the footage from disclosure.
Civil rights attorneys argued the charges violated the 2020 Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, a Colorado police accountability law enacted following national protests over police killings. The law requires agencies to release footage within 21 days of all incidents involving a misconduct complaint. It includes no provision for fees.
“Today’s ruling reaffirms what should have been obvious to Boulder when this lawsuit was filed two years ago — police departments can’t use exorbitant fees to hide their officers’ misconduct behind a paywall,” Matthew Simonsen, an attorney with Grata Law and Policy LLC representing Yellow Scene, said in a statement.
Sarah Huntley, a spokesperson for the city, said the city is aware of the ruling and is evaluating its legal options. Boulder could ask the Colorado Supreme Court to review the case.
Boulder had argued that fees were necessary to recover costs associated with blurring and muting sections of footage to protect privacy. The city cited the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, a separate state law that allows agencies to charge “reasonable fees” for records. It also contended that because the legislature never provided funding for the review and production of recordings, an “unfunded mandate” law made the city’s obligations optional.
The three-judge panel rejected both arguments. It found the fee provision in the criminal justice records law applies only to requests made under that statute, not the accountability law. And it said that even if the mandate were unfunded, the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act prevails because it is more recent and more specific.
“The conspicuous absence of a fee provision in the Integrity Act is telling,” Judge Stephanie Dunn wrote. “After all, the General Assembly knows how to include a fee provision if it intends one.”
Chief Judge Gilbert M. Román and Judge Craig R. Welling joined the opinion.
Under the ruling, Boulder was required to release body camera footage from the Alatorre shooting without requiring payment. Alatorre was shot and killed after residents leaving the North Boulder Recreation Center reported she was carrying what appeared to be a gun. She seemed to ignore officers’ commands to drop the weapon and walked onto residential side streets, according to body camera footage. Officers fired less-lethal bean bag rounds at her, but they had no apparent effect. She sustained eight rifle shot wounds. The gun was later determined to be an air pistol designed to resemble a 9-millimeter handgun.
If the ruling stands, it will make it easier for residents across Colorado to access video evidence of police use of force.
An amicus brief filed in the case by the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and the ACLU of Colorado cited challenges journalists face in obtaining body camera footage. A Denver Post editor said the newsroom relies primarily on footage voluntarily released by departments because of high costs. A 9NEWS investigative reporter was quoted more than $4,000 for footage of a fatal police shooting. A Denver7 producer said steep fees could “eliminate our ability to obtain these public records.”
“This is a very significant win for police transparency and accountability in Colorado,” Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, told Boulder Reporting Lab. “Without this ruling, agencies could charge hundreds or thousands of dollars for bodycam footage depicting possible officer misconduct. What would have been the point of a law requiring the disclosure of such footage if news organizations and the public couldn’t afford to pay for it?”
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This story was originally published by Boulder Reporting Lab and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
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