Mobile city council members could be voting on an ordinance soon that will spell out how police-worn body camera footage is released to the public, Council President C.J. Small said Wednesday.

Small and council attorney Michael Linder are examining an ordinance that would follow state law but include language spelling out how and when body camera footage can be released.

“Citizens are questioning why they cannot see the footage,” Small said after a council meeting in which family and supporters of the late Jawan Dallas spoke again out against the city’s handling of the investigation into his July 2 death following an encounter with Mobile police.

“We are making sure we follow state laws, getting our I’s dotted and T’s crossed,” Small said. “We are still looking and digging.”

The ordinance could include language spelling out when body camera footage can be released to suspects, families, and the general public.

“From Day 1, I was hoping for transparency,” Small said. “I understand state law restricts us. But I am hoping to go as far as we can while abiding by the law.”

State limitations

Indeed, state law will loom over what the council can do. Alabama has a new law on body camera and dashboard camera video access, but there is no provision requiring law enforcement to disclose any recordings.

Under the newest law, people whose image or voice is subject to body camera footage can file a written request to review it. An attorney, parent, spouse or another designated representative can also make a request.

The agency then receiving the request has to either show the video or notify the requestor it was denying the release. But the new law doesn’t require law enforcement to give a reason for denying a request.

The Alabama State Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that police bodycam and dashcam videos were considered investigative materials, like detective field notes and witness statements. The videos are considered exempt from disclosure requirements of the state public records law, the court determined through an 8-1 decision.

Dallas investigation

The effort in Mobile comes more than five months after the Dallas death in Theodore while authorities were investigating a burglary. While few details about his death have been publicized, the officers involved in the encounter were allowed last month to return to their routine patrols.

Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine has also called the officers a non-threat to the community.

Christine Dallas, Jawan’s mother, returned to the council and voiced her disdain in the handling of an investigation in which she has been declined a chance to review bodycam footage. Authorities have said the footage is part of an ongoing investigation, and is considered evidence that will go before a grand jury. They also said that items that are part of an investigation are subject to the state’s grand jury secrecy law, and cannot be released to the family.

But Christine Dallas is questioning why some within the city, including Chief of Staff James Barber, were allowed to review the footage while she and her family have not.

Barber has since said he is willing to meet with the Dallas family to provide an update into the investigation.

“We have yet to get a chance to see the video,” she said. “I have been denied access to the autopsy, the toxicology report. I still cannot get his property, and I’d like to know what is going on with that.”

Dallas blames the police officers who encountered Dallas for her son’s death. Jawan Dallas, 36, allegedly died after he was hit with a Taser stun gun, but few details have been provided.

“I feel the police officers should not be on the streets,” she said. “They are a threat to the community. If they are investigated, they should not be patrolling the streets.”

Police advisory committee

Christine Dallas also urged the council to consider reforming a police-citizens advisory board, which has not been active for several years. The six-member group was reformed in 2020, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white police officer. But it has not met in recent years.

“I am definitely interested (in re-establishing the committee) and it’s vital and important for our citizens to be active,” Councilman Cory Penn said.

Small said the council will consider soon whether to bring the committee back.