http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/us/keith-scott-shooting-video-charlotte.html 2016-09-26 16:46:29 Video of Charlotte Police Shooting Could Be the Last Released in North Carolina A state law restricting the release of such footage takes effect Saturday. It would have prevented the release of images in the shooting of Keith Scott. === Facing pressure from politicians and protesters, the police in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday Had they waited a week, a bill that was signed into law in July would have made it much more difficult for the footage to become public. House bill 972 The relevant sections of the bill After that, footage captured by the police will be disclosed only to a person or representative of the person “whose image or voice” is included in the recording, according to the law. Anyone else interested in obtaining the recording will be required to make a formal, written request. “This legislation fulfills our commitment to protect our law enforcement and gain public trust by promoting uniformity, clarity and transparency,” Mr. McCrory said on the day of the signing. The legislation drew criticism. “Body cameras should be a tool to make law enforcement more transparent and accountable,” Susanna Birdsong, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in North Carolina, said Politicians and law enforcement officials across the country have argued that by using body cameras, police departments can gain the trust of local communities. In December 2014, President Obama But the cameras have become a point of contention In a report Experts say, however, that video captured by the cameras can be In an interview with “It isn’t necessarily the magic bullet, that now we know the truth and that we’ll all agree, we’ll see the same thing and agree on the same thing,” she said. In a recent interview with And Kerr Putney, chief of the But many police officials — including some in North Carolina — say they believe that releasing body camera footage is the best way to help communities understand the actions of the police, whether positive or negative. In “There is no better way to do that than through body camera footage that the public can see,” he said, adding, “Sometimes we do ourselves a great disservice by not disclosing as much information as we can.”