Judge rules Topeka police must release deadly shooting video
TOPEKA (KSNT) - A federal judge has ruled the City of Topeka must release portions of video evidence collected during and after the police-shooting death of a Topeka man in 2022.
Officers with the Topeka Police Department shot and killed Taylor Lowery following a domestic disturbance in 2022. Several months later, the Shawnee County District Attorney's Office announced the Kansas Bureau of Investigation exonerated the officers involved.
Following that decision, Lowery's family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Topeka and the officers involved. Attorneys for the plaintiff requested through the Kansas Open Records Act the City of Topeka produce evidence related to the shooting, including body camera video from the officers involved. The city refused.
In November 2024, attorneys for the city filed a motion for a blanket protective order that would have allowed them to deny the prosecution's discovery request for three types of video footage: officer body camera footage showing the events leading up to, during and following the shooting; KBI footage of interviews with police officers; and footage of interviews with victims and witnesses. According to court records, attorneys for the city argued the footage contains information that identifies the people involved, including innocent third parties and children.
In a ruling filed on Dec. 13, 2024, U.S. Magistrate Judge Angel Mitchell agreed the defendant should be allowed to designate portions of the footage as confidential to protect those involved from identity theft or harassment. However, the court found attorneys for the defendants failed to show they would be harmed if the remaining footage is kept confidential.
As for the officer bodycam footage, the judge said courts tend to exclude such footage from protective orders based on the public's strong interest in transparency of public incidents. In the end, the judge granted the request for a protective order in part and denied it in part. The court permitted the defendants to designate limited portions of footage as confidential.
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