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I got a bike ticket for going through a red light. I don’t think I did.

The officer confirmed that he was wearing his body cam and that it was on.

How do I go about getting the bodycam video? I have been trying to obtain it through foil requests but they are unsuccessful: NYPD claims giving me the bodycam would interfere with my case.

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    Where did the alleged violation occur?
    – phoog
    Jan 11, 2020 at 7:29
  • There are records access appeals officers who handle appeals of denied FOIL requests. They are required to give particularized and specific justification for nondisclosure. Can you include the specific reason for the FOIL denial?
    – Dave D
    Jan 16, 2020 at 7:02

2 Answers 2

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IANAL, but I have some experience. You are screwed. Even if you are acquitted of the charges, you will have spent so much on lawyers, court, and other things that you will effectively have been punished.

  1. You need to decide whether you want to fight this or not. If you choose not to fight this, you will limit your losses.
  2. If you fight this, you need to hire a lawyer. Advice from stackoverflow will not cut it. The NYPD will use every trick in the book to keep you from apart from any exonerating evidence.
  3. You are going to have to go court a lot. The NYPD will try to wear you out with court appearances.
  4. For the future, you should invest in a bike cam. Just assume the cops won't give you their video and make your own.
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    As I am a programmer, I am not interested in stackoverflow telling me whether it should be done - only how it can be done. I am only asking - how do I get the bodycam from the city. There must be a procedure to do so. I want only to know this.
    – iamacomputer
    Jan 10, 2020 at 20:55
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    @iamacomputer There must be a procedure to do so. I want only to know this. I think the procedure is that you get a judge to order the NYPD to give you the footage.
    – emory
    Jan 10, 2020 at 21:54
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    This is ridiculous. If there is a way to do it- then there is a way to do it. Following a set of steps submitting paper work to where-ever should not be "mysterious" or "secret."
    – iamacomputer
    Jan 10, 2020 at 22:39
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    I think the suggestion that you get a lawyer is the procedure. I doubt there's a form 9173c you fill out and bam you get the footage. You'll most likely have to file some kind of legal brief or sue the police department to get the footage. The judge probably wouldn't grant it for a simple traffic citation.
    – Jason Goemaat
    Jan 11, 2020 at 3:45
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    Can you use discovery in traffic court? Thats the normal method for getting evidence like this.
    – Matt
    Jan 11, 2020 at 5:26
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The cops don't necessarily have to give you the video footage, the prosecuting attorney does. You are entitled to discovery before a trial of any exonerating evidence. The district attorney must furnish all evidence to you if it exists before trial and the cops may not supress it. You need to make a demand for discovery but the particulars of this process vary.

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