united-states california police evidence public-records
Are citizen-recorded videos catalogued as evidence by the police exempt from public records requests?
<p>Presuming videos recorded in public, are such videos generally open to public inspection?</p>
<p>If not, are such videos open to public inspection in non-criminal proceedings, for e.g. in traffic investigations where the police finds no criminal misconduct?</p>

<p>It depends on what stage of the investigation they are in and if the evidence is useful at all to police.  If it's going to be used as evidence of a crime against someone, it will be disclosed to the public likely before the trial, as in the United States, all evidence must be publically disclosed at trial.  There are some exceptions that the courts may withhold (such as in cases with a minor child as the victim) but they will be presented to the jury.   Journalist Ethics and Broadcast standards may also add blurs to keep the identities of bystanders from being aired, but that is on the burden of the network to make sure those edits are made.</p>
