"OAKLAND - Authorities here have said little about the mid-October death of former NFL running back Doug Martin, only describing it as an in-custody death after a "brief struggle" with Oakland police officers. The Oakland Police Department has refused to release 911 dispatch recordings that would shed more light on the moments leading up to the 36-year-old becoming unconscious, after officers found him inside one of his neighbors' houses in the Oakland hills."
"Now, OPD officials on Tuesday argued the encounter did not amount to a "critical incident," a key threshold that would require the agency to release officer body-camera video. "At this time, the City has determined that the incident does not meet the definition of a 'critical incident,'" read an unsigned statement from OPD, which cited AB 748, the law signed in 2019. "Therefore, the mandatory disclosure provisions applicable to critical incidents do not apply.""
""Transparency is the oxygen of accountability," David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said. "The public has an overwhelming interest in how the government does their job, especially how police officers do their job. Even if they're not legally required to release it, there's no reason I believe they should not release the video.""
Authorities in Oakland provided minimal detail about the mid-October death of former NFL running back Doug Martin, describing the incident as an in-custody death following a "brief struggle" with officers. The Oakland Police Department declined to release 911 dispatch recordings and argued the encounter did not meet the AB 748 definition of a "critical incident," which would trigger mandatory disclosure of body-camera video. The department issued an unsigned statement citing the 2019 law and said mandatory disclosure provisions did not apply. First Amendment and police accountability advocates criticized the refusal and emphasized public interest in transparency.
Read at The Mercury News
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