Public records lawsuit demands video of alleged attack by Alaska State Troopers • Alaska Beacon

A civil rights lawyer is sue the Alaska Department of Public Safety for access to bodycam footage related to an alleged attack by two Alaska State Police officers on a man from the Kenai Peninsula.

This month, DPS Commissioner James Cockrell told reporters he was “completely disgusted” by what he saw in the footage. The video led to an investigation that resulted in prosecutors charging the two officers with assault.

John Skidmore, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, said the bodycam footage would not be made available to the public until “after the criminal case has been concluded” or during the course of a court case.

Attorney Nick Feronti finds this unacceptable.

“I think the public (and frankly the media) deserve more transparency,” he said via email. “And I know I’m not alone. That’s why I filed a lawsuit under the Alaska Public Records Act.”

Feronti works as an attorney with the Northern Justice Project, a civil rights organization, he said, but works independently of that work.

“I want to make it clear that I sincerely respect the men and women who are dedicated to policing and keeping our communities safe. They deserve our deepest gratitude. And I extend my deepest gratitude to them. However, the public also has a right to transparency when elected officials abuse the public trust,” Feronti said.

Feronti’s lawsuit, which names the Department of Public Safety as a defendant, was filed last week in Anchorage Superior Court and assigned to Judge Thomas Matthews. No further hearing has been scheduled.

The two police officers are due to appear in court on September 10.