As of Tuesday, the Columbus Division of Police's public records office now charges $37 per hour for video public records requests from police-worn body cameras and police cruisers.
CPD employees will send an estimate of the time and cost to redact and process video requests. Requestors will have 15 business days to pay, or the videos won't be processed.
CPD sent a notice about the records request policy change on Tuesday. It comes months after an Ohio law began allowing police departments to charge as much as $75 per hour for police body camera footage, with an allowed maximum of $750 per request.
Emily Cole is executive director of OFUPAC, or Ohio Families United for Political Action and Change. It's an arm of Ohio Families Unite Against Police Brutality, which focuses on policy action that helps Ohio families impacted by police brutality, gun violence and incarceration.
Cole called CPD's records request policy change "alarming." She worries the cost could be prohibitive to the people her organization serves.
"Unfortunately, we know that the communities that are most policed are also the communities that will most struggle to bear this cost," Cole said.
Cole said she believed Columbus had committed to not increase the cost of its public records requests.
"To see that announced in the news without even a communication or consultation was pretty offensive," Cole said.
Cole also questioned how CPD arrived at the $37 amount.
"Where's that money going to go? Is it a direct reimbursement of time? Like we have yet to see the full policy," Cole said.
The Columbus Division of Police did not answer additional questions regarding the new policy, but said in a statement that the public records office received more than 2,400 requests for body-worn camera and cruiser video last year. That made up about 37% of all public records requests.
CPD will still release video of police shootings and "other major incidents that are necessary or beneficial for public safety" at no charge.
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to transparency between the Division and the community we serve," CPD's statement reads.
Cole acknowledged that CPD will continue to release footage of serious incidents, but said that police brutality extends beyond "major incidents."
Cole said OFUPAC will supplement the cost for families that cannot afford to pay the new fee.
