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Seeking police body camera footage can be complicated in North Carolina. Here's why.

Michael Hewlett | 16 hrs ago

The fatal shooting of a Black man by sheriff’s deputies in Elizabeth City has culminated in public demands for the release of body camera footage.

But getting that footage released publicly is complicated.

For one thing, under North Carolina law, body-camera footage is not a public record, and law-enforcement agencies do not have the legal authority to release such footage to the public.

Because of a 2016 law, law enforcement videos can only be released to the public through a court order signed by a superior court judge. People have to file a petition with the court in order for that to happen.

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