Michigan FOIA Knowledge Center
How to Request Police Body-Camera Footage in Michigan
Body-camera footage sits at the intersection of Michigan FOIA and the separate Law Enforcement Body-Worn Camera Privacy Act. Location, timing, retention, and the requester’s relationship to the recorded event can matter.
Describe the recording precisely
Identify the agency, date, approximate time, location, incident number, involved officer or person, and event. Request all body-worn camera recordings for officers who responded, including pre-event buffers and associated metadata when appropriate.
Private-place recordings
The Body-Worn Camera Privacy Act specially addresses recordings made in certain private places and identifies persons who may request copies. Do not assume the same disclosure rule applies to every recording.
Retention is urgent
Agency policy and the statute govern retention. Submit promptly and separately request preservation when footage may otherwise be deleted. A FOIA request is not always the same thing as a litigation preservation notice.
Policies and redaction
Request the agency’s written body-camera policy along with footage. Agencies may redact protected information and charge permitted fees. Ask for an explanation of redactions and production of all segregable footage.
Specificity protects against both delay and loss
Body-camera systems often contain many short clips rather than one continuous recording. Identify the incident date, approximate time, location, involved person, responding officers if known, and report number. Ask for all associated clips, including pre-event buffers and footage categorized under another event number.
Do not wait unnecessarily. Retention periods vary by policy and event classification. A preservation request is not the same thing as a FOIA request, but promptly identifying the footage can reduce the risk that routine deletion overtakes the access process.
Requester checklist
- Agency and incident
- Date/time/location
- All responding officers
- Preservation request considered
- Body-camera policy
- Electronic delivery
Primary sources
External authorities control. Confirm the current statute, decision, policy, and local procedures before relying on them.