Huron police propose charging for body‑cam redactions under state law; council places policy on first reading

Council placed Ordinance 2026‑3 on its first reading after a presentation by Huron Police Department leadership explaining a new video policy to handle body‑worn and in‑car camera public records requests.

Chief Grand said public records requests for video have grown substantially and that fulfilling those requests—reviewing multiple officers’ footage and performing audio/video redactions—can require many staff hours. Using an example, he said a single 30‑minute incident with three officers could require nine hours of staff time to prepare redacted audio and video. Under House Bill 425 and Ohio Revised Code section 149 (as cited by the chief), recordings may contain restricted material (victims, juveniles, protected health information) that must be redacted before release. The proposed policy would allow the city to charge requesters up to $75 per hour, not to exceed $750 per incident; the chief said there are exemptions for residents named in the report and for traditional news organizations.

Council members asked how the policy would handle unusually broad or repetitive requests. Chief Grand said the statute allows discretion to charge requesters and that the city would evaluate those requests case‑by‑case. He noted the department does not currently have an administrative assistant dedicated to processing these requests and that the redaction workload had become time‑consuming.

The ordinance was placed on first reading; council did not adopt final action at the meeting.

Direct quote: "If I have three officers on the scene, that's 30 minutes, 30 minutes, 30 minutes of their bodycam review ... that takes me three hours to do audio and video redactions," Chief Grand said.

Next steps: The ordinance will return for additional readings or final consideration at a future meeting, where council may vote on formal adoption and any specific fee schedule.