7.5(cc)

How the Public Access Counselor has treated 7.5(cc)

Section 7.5(cc) of FOIA exempts officer-worn body camera recordings from disclosure except to the extent disclosure is allowed under the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. Under that Act, access is limited to requesters who fall within specified categories, including where the requester is depicted or is the subject of the encounter, and may depend on flagging and victim or witness consent considerations.

In these decisions, the PAC generally upheld withholding or redacting recordings when the requester was not depicted, was not the subject of the encounter, or was otherwise not authorized to receive them under section 10-20(b). It approved providing only the portions depicting the requester and redacting audio or images of others for privacy. In one decision, it found extensive blurring of a public encounter improper.

At a glance: 13 documents from 2020 to 2026(0 binding opinions, 13 determination letters). Most often cited alongside: 7(1)(c) (Personal privacy) (3); 7(1)(a) (Federal/State-law confidentiality — or public defender case files, for documents issued under the other amendment version) (1); 7(1)(b) (Private information) (1); 7(1)(d)(iv) (Would disclose a confidential source or informant) (1).

Recurring issues

• Whether a requester who was not depicted in the footage or was not the subject of the encounter can obtain the recordings. (Police body-camera footage and transcripts of a parking-lot interaction, Police body-camera footage of a motor vehicle accident investigation, Police body-camera recordings of a traffic crash)
• Whether the requester falls within the categories authorized to obtain copies under section 10-20(b) of the Body Camera Act. (Police body-camera footage of a motor vehicle accident investigation, Police body and dash camera footage of a traffic accident, Police body-camera footage of a private meeting between officers)
• Whether a public body may provide only the portions depicting the requester while redacting audio or video of other individuals. (Body-camera footage and 911 recordings of a YMCA incident, Body-camera footage of a police officer on a specific date, Police body-camera footage of an encounter with others)
• Whether extensive blurring of an individual during a public encounter goes beyond what privacy and body-camera exemptions permit. (Police body-camera footage of a public encounter, Body-camera footage and 911 recordings of a YMCA incident)

Practical points

• A requester seeking body-camera footage should explain how they are depicted in the recording or are the subject of the encounter.
• A public body releasing footage to an entitled requester should limit disclosure to portions depicting that requester and redact portions showing others.
• A public body withholding footage should cite section 7.5(cc) together with the applicable Body Camera Act limitation on who may receive the recording.

Summary drafted from the linked decisions and checked against them; read the decisions themselves before relying on it. Not legal advice.