The St. Paul Police Department, responding to more than 30 requests under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act to see the videos, set up a computer in the lobby of the Western District station, where the videos can be watched.
"It was public dollars that paid for these cameras, and we have the right to see them," said Communities United Against Police Brutality President Michelle Gross. "The videos should have been made available immediately."
Police spokesman Peter Panos said the videos were made public as soon as they were ready, but it was a time-consuming process. The videos had to be reviewed, frame by frame, to ensure no undercover officers were shown, a requirement under state law, Panos said.
Before the convention came to St. Paul in September, the city installed 45 security cameras downtown; now, they're permanent fixtures. The cameras, infrastructure and command center to monitor the cameras used up $2.1 million of the $50 million grant police got from the U.S. Department of Justice for the RNC.
When the videos were made available at the Hamline Avenue station at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Gross and two others Darryl Robinson, CUAPB vice president, and Bill Drebenstedt, Community RNC Arrestee Support Structure (CRASS) member were waiting.
The trio criticized the logistics of viewing the videos as they huddled around the one public computer in the Western District's lobby. They suggested more computers could be made available, or police could post the videos on the Internet and people could watch them anywhere.
Panos said that the release was done in the most cost-effective way possible and that the expense of Data Practices Act requests wasn't included in the $50 million grant the department received.
On Tuesday, Gross, Robinson and Drebenstedt started cataloguing what videos were available the footage is separated into intersections, at various dates and times. Next, they'll organize volunteers to come to the police station, watch the videos and flag portions the group may want to purchase from police, Gross said.
CRASS is particularly interested in looking for footage that may exonerate people charged with felonies, Drebenstedt said. More than 800 people were arrested during the RNC.
Volunteers recorded their own videos during RNC protests and have "a lot of damaging footage" of excessive force by police, Robinson said. They want to view the police video to find out whether "it's also damaging," he said.
After the convention, the city asked former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger and former U.S. Attorney Thomas Heffelfinger to lead the RNC Public Safety Review Commission. The commission is to provide factual findings and recommendations about the planning and tactics of law enforcement during the convention.
Their report is to be presented to the City Council at its Jan. 14 meeting.
Gross said she filed a Data Practices Act request for the police video Sept. 13. The department sent a letter Friday to her and other requesters, including the Pioneer Press, about the viewing arrangements.
Members of the public who want to see the videos can file a Data Practices Act request with the police department, Panos said. He said he will be scheduling appointments for people to view the footage at the Western District.
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