Olympia City Council removes nonprofit exemption for police body camera footage fees 

The Olympia City Council voted to remove a city-created exemption that allowed nonprofit organizations to obtain body-worn camera footage from the Olympia Police Department (OPD) without paying redaction fees.  

The move follows the council's review of the policy.  

Michael Fulmer, the deputy city clerk, presented findings to the city council on Tuesday, Feb. 25, in the form of a public survey conducted in 2022 that found that most respondents believed the existing state-mandated exemptions were sufficient. The city at that time, introduced a nonprofit exemption, which is now being reevaluated.  

Under the Washington State Public Records Act, the city can charge for staff time spent redacting body-worn camera footage requests.

There are some state-mandated exemptions from fees: individuals involved in the incident and their attorneys, individuals relevant to a criminal case, Washington state commissions on African-American, Asian-Pacific American or Hispanic Affairs, and attorneys representing clients in potential civil rights violations.  

"Roughly 90% of our requesters fall within one of these categories. We only charge about 10% of requesters for body-worn camera redaction time," said Fulmer, adding the city no longer charges requesters for videos that have already been redacted.  

The city council previously approved the updated fee study in 2024, which Fulmer claimed saved Olympia an estimated $15,000 a year in staff time. However, council members questioned the necessity of the nonprofit exemption and requested a review.  

Fulmer reported no other agencies contacted had created their exemptions and only used the state-mandated exemptions.  

Concerns over nonprofit exemption 

City staff determined the city-created nonprofit exemption was open to potential abuse.  

"In response to the questions from the May 2024, public hearing, we concluded that none of these suggestions were viable to implement, as they would either be too narrow in scope and not promote ... any additional transparency, or that they would be open to possible abuse, and that is the issue that we have with the nonprofit exemption that the city has currently created," Fulmer said.  

He added that staff found out it could be easy for individuals to register as a nonprofit, and then make large, voluminous public records requests for body-worn camera footage.

This could have significantly increased the workload for the Olympia Police Department and strain city resources.  

Fulmer said legitimate nonprofit organizations that have a valid reason to obtain the footage, such as victim advocacy groups, would likely already be exempt under the existing state exemptions.

For example, a victim advocacy organization could assist a victim in requesting the footage, as victims involved in an incident are already exempt from the fees. 

Citing the 2022 survey, Fulmer reiterated that additional exemptions do not promote any additional government transparency.

"The city-created exemption is open to abuse, leaving the city open to spending additional staff hours redacting body-worn camera video, which we could otherwise charge for," Fulmer said.