Pasco to consider WSU request to use police body-camera video for research with privacy restrictions

Pasco City will consider a request from Washington State University for access to Pasco Police Department body-camera footage for a research project, the city said in a July 20 meeting preview.

Communications coordinator Alyssa Warner said Washington State University and the Pasco Police Department "have agreed on strict regulations to protect the privacy of anyone who shows up in the body camera video if the project is approved." Warner did not provide the text of those regulations in the preview.

Why it matters: police body-camera footage can be valuable for research on policing practices and community outcomes, but releasing footage raises privacy and legal concerns. Agreements generally include redaction, limited access, data-security controls and specific allowable uses. The preview indicates the city and university have discussed protections, but the council will review the agreement.

What is unknown from the preview: the specific privacy safeguards, whether footage will be anonymized or redacted, duration of data retention, whether the university will publish findings or receive identifiable footage, and whether a data-use agreement will require additional legal review. Those details should appear in the council packet.

Next step: council will be asked to approve the use of body-camera video by WSU under the agreed regulations; the preview did not record a council vote or staff recommendation.