Dear Honorable Mayor Betsy Hodges,
Please intervene and allow public access to the videotapes taken at the
homicide of Jamar Clark.
I appreciate that, normally, data that pertains to an ongoing criminal
investigation is not made public. There are sound legal reasons for this
practice. Eyewitness accounts are notoriously unreliable and the public
release of such testimony could taint other evidence, but video tapes are a
special kind of eyewitness testimony in that they are free of prejudice and
record only what is seen. Unless they are somehow doctored they cannot be
anything other than an objective report on the incident.
Second, as I am sure you are aware, the Minnesota Data Practices Act makes a
special exception to keeping data private during a criminal investigation.
Police agencies can choose to release data if it would âaid with the law
enforcement process, promote public safety, or dispel widespread rumor or
unrest.â
I submit to you that we have âwidespread rumor and unrestâ concerning the
homicide of Jamar Clark. It would restore confidence in the police and in your
office if all the known facts were laid upon the table.
Please, release the tapes.
Ed Felien
If Mayor Hodges does not release the tapes, then a legal committee must be
established to bring action in District Court for a Writ of Mandamus to compel
her to release the tapes in the public interest.
Ed Felien
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