Catoosa to release police audio, video recordings

The city of Catoosa will release its police department's audio and video recordings, according to court documents.

A Vinita attorney who specializes in drunken-driving cases sued Catoosa and Claremore for the records in May.

A hearing in the Claremore case has been set for Aug. 1.

On Wednesday, however, Catoosa officials agreed that the recordings, "to the extent they exist, are subject to the Open Records Act."

They agreed to provide the records directly to the plaintiff, Josh D. Lee of Ward & Lee, rather than to the district attorney for release.

Lee agreed not to seek criminal sanctions against the city officials, who in turn agreed to pay $3,500 in attorney fees and costs to Lee.

Because Catoosa officials were stubborn and wrong, taxpayers have to pony up $3,500.

What will Claremore taxpayers have to pay?

Claremore officials said in a court filing that the city police patrol cars have video cameras but the videos can't be produced because of significant issues with the Police Department's computer system, according to the Tulsa World.

Sounds like a story by itself.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications


The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, or its board of directors. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.