On June 1, 2020, APD added a policy regarding the public release of critical incident videos involving police officers.
The OPO was influential in developing this policy and meeting with the community to get input and feedback.
Critical incidents are defined as:
- Officer-involved shootings, including unintentional discharge, while in the course of duty or response to a call, regardless of whether a person was hit by gunfire and even if no allegation of misconduct is made.
- A use of force resulting in death or serious bodily injury as defined by Section 1.07, Texas Penal Code
- All deaths while an arrestee/detainee is in the custodial care of the Department
- Any other police encounter where the Chief of Police determines the release of video furthers a law enforcement purpose.
The policy says that APD will publish video footage of police-related critical incidents to inform the community in a timely fashion. The policy also states that APD will consult and seek feedback from OPO during the production of the video for public release.
At the time of publication, APD has released three critical incident videos to the public, with OPO conducting oversight of the process. Click here to view these videos.