Resident asks Universal City Council to review denial of body-camera footage

A Universal City resident who identified herself only as Amanda told the council she requested body-worn camera footage after officers woke her early to report her stolen car had been recovered. "Rather than releasing the footage to me, which should be presumed available to the public, the city chose to fight me," Amanda said, and she described three reasons the city gave for withholding the recording: mandatory confidentiality, lack of written consent from a third person depicted (her daughter), and protection of police methods and tactics.

Amanda said the incident involved a felony car theft, that the report indicated the police were not pursuing an active investigation, and that the resident believes the city could have provided redacted footage rather than withholding it entirely. She asked the mayor and council to "have a real conversation about transparency" and urged them to review gatekeeping that she said prevented release of the recording.

The transcript records the comment during the public-comment portion of the meeting; council members responded later in the meeting only to acknowledge the comment period’s rules (they said they could not respond during Citizens to Be Heard). The transcript does not record any subsequent staff response or action on Amanda’s request during this meeting.