Woodward wins partial relief: director orders Sandy City to revise fees and provide video‑copy/redaction estimates

Miss Woodward told the Department of Government Records that she needs body‑worn camera footage from a July 11, 2024 search of her home because the department's return to warrant and the handwritten receipts left at the residence conflict.

"Denying access to the videos prevents me from proving what items were truly seized versus the items that were merely claimed," Woodward said. She told the director a $613 fee (the city had previously cited a $613 demand) would be an insurmountable barrier and asked for a fee waiver or production with minimal redaction.

Sandy City representatives told the director they were prepared to produce 10 videos without redaction and to provide four additional videos with audio redacted; they said three Pomeroy‑labeled videos contain investigative tactics that would require extensive redaction. City counsel and Captain Ethan Alexander explained that redaction is time‑consuming because it can involve officer‑to‑officer strategy discussions, unrelated third‑party images and personal identifying information for other subjects in the house. The city estimated roughly 1,000 total minutes of footage and cited a per‑minute reproduction charge in its memo.

The director reviewed sample footage and in‑camera materials and found the three Pomeroy videos were not properly classified as entirely exempt under the investigative‑tactics exemption. Instead, the director ordered the city to identify costs separately: (1) an itemized estimate to copy the 10 videos (with a clarified fee that reflects copying costs rather than a per‑minute charge tied to total runtime) and (2) a separate estimate for redaction of the videos that truly require substantive editing. The director said some videos could be released with only audio redacted and that the city should break out the costs so Woodward can decide which production she will pay for. "I have a real problem with the fee being based on the number of hours of video when really the actual cost to the city is just copying them onto a disc," the director said.

Outcome and next steps: The appeal was granted in part and denied in part; the director will issue a written order within seven business days specifying which videos will be produced, which will be redacted, and the revised fee estimates. Woodward may appeal the written order to district court within 30 calendar days if she chooses.