Boston Council Demands Body Camera Release Timeline After Police Leadership No-Shows

BOSTON — April 7, 2026 — Boston City Council committee examines gaps in police body camera release policy, calls for timelines. The Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice, chaired by Councillor Henry Santana, held a hearing Tuesday on Docket 0638 — sponsored by Councillors Miniard Culpepper and Brian Worrell — to scrutinize BPD's protocols for releasing body-worn and dashboard camera footage, prompted by an officer-involved death now headed to a Suffolk County grand jury. BPD General Counsel Dave Frederick said the department received roughly 800 footage requests in 2025 and fulfilled close to 500, with denials driven primarily by the investigatory exemption under state public records law; he confirmed city councillors have no special standing and must file the same public records request as any resident. OPAT Executive Director Evandro Carvalho said his office requested the footage in the current case and was denied, and described the agency as monitoring rather than investigating while criminal proceedings continue. Sociology professor Dr. Christopher Schneider, appearing virtually, called Chicago's COPA framework — which mandates footage release within 60 days and gives the oversight office direct database access within 24 hours — "a gold standard" Boston should emulate, saying "body camera programs are only as good as their policies." Multiple councillors criticized the absence of police commissioner Michael Cox and other BPD leadership from the hearing.