Lakewood’s appeal of a judge’s order to disclose blurred body-worn camera footage of police shooting and killing a 17-year-old robbery suspect in 2023 “is a transparent attempt to turn back the clock” on Colorado’s Law Enforcement Integrity Act, the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and other organizations say.

The 2020 law “unequivocally established the public’s right to timely access to video and audio footage from body-worn cameras of Colorado peace officers,” asserts a friend-of-the-court brief submitted by the organizations to the Court of Appeals. “… However, its effectiveness depends on court rulings that endure consistent application.”

Drafted by attorney Katayoun Donnelly, the brief supports Scripps News in its lawsuit against Lakewood for withholding the video from reporter Lori Jane Gliha, despite the Law Enforcement Integrity Act’s mandatory-release deadlines.

Last May, Jefferson County District Court Judge Chantel Contiguglia found that “a plain reading of the law” requires release of the footage, rejecting the city’s claim that the Colorado Children’s Code protects the deceased teen’s privacy. However, the Court of Appeals stayed Contiguglia’s order in September pending the outcome of the city’s appeal.