Getting The Footage
RCW 42.56.240 — what a body worn camera request must identify, and no redaction costs for the person in it
The request. A request for body worn camera recordings must specifically identify the name of a person involved, the incident or case number, the date, time and location, or an officer involved.
No redaction costs. A person directly involved in the recorded incident, or that person's attorney, may not be required to pay the costs of redacting or obscuring any portion of the recording.
Privacy. Disclosure is presumed highly offensive to the extent a recording depicts, among other things, areas of medical treatment, the interior of a residence, an intimate image, a minor, a deceased body, or the identity of a domestic violence or sexual assault victim or witness.
How a records request is made, the fees, and the other exemptions in the public records law are set out in other sections that are not on this page. Whether a particular recording must be released is a question for a licensed Washington attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- RCW 42.56.240 — Law enforcement records exempt from disclosure, including body worn camera recordings
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Washington attorney.