Sonny Kim with his wife Jessica and sons Timothy, Joshua and JacobThe prosecutor in Hamilton County has moved to keep the media from getting police dash cam video of the killing of Cincinnati Police Officer Sonny Kim, reports WCPO.
Several media outlets had submitted a public records act request to get the video, but the prosecutor who admits he doesn’t want the media to have it has subpoenaed the tapes from the City of Cincinnati because its part of an active grand jury investigation.
Joe Deters says he has no plans to ever grant access to the tapes unless ordered to do so by the Supreme Court of Ohio.
The widow of Officer Kim had requested the tape be kept from the public so as not to subject her children to such pain.
The media has been under lots of public pressure not to show the tapes. None have said they definitely would show it, but say its important for them to look at the tapes before making a decision.
WCPO released this statement:
Relations between the police and the communities they serve are under intense scrutiny today. If we did not request the video, which is a public record, we would not be fulfilling our obligation as a journalism organization.
Any decision on broadcast or publication would take into consideration several factors: the content of the video, whether it could be offensive to our audience, and most certainly the wishes of Sonny Kim’s family. His widowed wife, Jessica, has written city officials asking that they not release the video. We’d like to assure her and her family that any decision by the media would be made carefully.
The Cincinnati Enquirer also released a statement:
Our request to review all public records related to the case stems from our responsibility to seek the truth and tell the complete story, not to proceed in a reckless, sensational manner.
We will carefully balance its newsworthiness with our desire to respect community sensitivities and the Kim family’s loss.
