How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in South Carolina

The public records law that gets you the video

South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, S.C. Code §§30-4-10 to 30-4-165

10 business days to decide, then 30

A public record includes photographs, tapes, recordings and other documentary materials regardless of physical form held by a public body (§30-4-20(c)), and public bodies include state agencies, counties, municipalities, school districts and other bodies supported by public funds (§30-4-20(a)). A person has a right to inspect, copy or receive an electronic transmission of any public record, except as provided by §30-4-40 or other state or federal law; the right does not extend to people serving a prison sentence (§30-4-30(A)(1)). An agency is not required to create an electronic version of a record that does not exist (§30-4-30(A)(2)). Deadlines (§30-4-30(C)): on a written request, the agency must within 10 days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays, tell you its determination and the reasons (20 such days if the record is more than 24 months old). If it grants the request, it must furnish the record within 30 calendar days of that determination (35 if the record is more than 24 months old), or, if it requires a deposit, within 30 calendar days of receiving the deposit. If it sends no determination in time, the request is considered approved as to nonexempt records, though exemptions are not waived. The deadlines can be extended by written mutual agreement, which you may not unreasonably withhold. Fees (§30-4-30(B)): reasonable fees not exceeding the actual cost of search, retrieval and redaction, at no more than the prorated hourly salary of the lowest-paid employee with the needed skill; copy charges may not exceed the prevailing commercial rate and do not apply to records sent electronically; no fee for examination and review to decide whether records are exempt; a deposit of up to 25% of the anticipated cost may be required; the agency must post its fee schedule online and may waive or reduce fees in the public interest. We found no separate fee rule for video in the Act. Example, Department of Public Safety (Highway Patrol) fee schedule, updated December 13, 2023: videos (non-MAIT) $15 per disc, photographs $20 per incident, dispatch tapes or logs $28, MAIT materials $100 per item, and search, retrieval and redaction from $21.97 an hour; payment by check or money order. Example, SCDOT: no research fee for the first hour per staff person, then $30 per staff-hour; first 25 paper pages free; $15.00 for a USB drive when files are too large to email.

Police body camera and dashcam video

Body cam not public; some dashcam is

Body cameras: “Data recorded by a body-worn camera is not a public record subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act” (§23-1-240(G)(1)). The agency, SLED, the Attorney General or a circuit solicitor may release it in its discretion (§23-1-240(G)(3)). These people are entitled to request and receive it through the South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure, the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure or a court order: the person who is the subject of the recording; a criminal defendant if it is relevant to a pending criminal action; a civil litigant if it is relevant to a pending civil action; a person whose property was seized or damaged in relation to, or is otherwise involved with, a crime the recording relates to; the parent or guardian of a minor or incapacitated person in the first two groups; and an attorney for any of them (§23-1-240(G)(5)). The Department of Public Safety says that under no circumstances will it release body camera footage in response to a FOIA request, and that the routes are the court rules or a court order, including a Rule 5 request or a subpoena. Retention and release policy is left to Law Enforcement Training Council guidelines and each agency’s approved policy (§23-1-240(C), (D)); we found no statute that sets a retention period for body camera video. Dashboard cameras: §30-4-50(A)(9) lists as public information, “notwithstanding any other provision of the law, data from a video or audio recording made by a law enforcement vehicle-mounted recording device or dashboard camera that involves an officer involved incident resulting in death, injury, property damage, or the use of deadly force.” The statute does not define “officer involved incident.” The opening of §30-4-50(A) makes every listed category public information “subject to the restrictions and limitations of Sections 30-4-20, 30-4-40, and 30-4-70.” A law enforcement or public safety agency may apply to the circuit court for an order preventing disclosure; the hearing must be requested within 15 days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays, of receiving your request, you must get notice of the request and the hearing, and the hearing is in camera. The court may order the recording withheld only on a showing by clear and convincing evidence that it is exempt under §30-4-40(a)(3) and that the reason for the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure, or may order it released with specific portions redacted; an order to withhold must set a definite time period and include the court’s findings, and you get a copy (§30-4-50(A)(9)(a) to (d)). Other in-car video is governed by the general Act. DUI arrests must be video recorded at the incident site and the breath test site (the duty applies to each traffic enforcement vehicle once it is equipped with a video recording device), and that video may not be disposed of until the results of any legal proceeding are finally determined (§56-5-2953(A), (C), (G)). The Department of Public Safety lists videotape, if available, among the materials it can provide for a crash, at $15 per disc (non-MAIT) or $100 per MAIT item; for crash materials it requires both sides of the TR-310 report with your request.

When police can hold video back

Withheld only to the extent of harm

A public body may, but is not required to, withhold records, video or audio recordings, or other information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that production would interfere with a prospective law enforcement proceeding, deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, be an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy, disclose a confidential source, disclose current techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, disclose current guidelines for them where that would risk circumvention of the law, endanger anyone’s life or physical safety, or disclose intercepted communications not disclosed at trial (§30-4-40(a)(3)). If a record mixes exempt and nonexempt material, the agency must separate them and release the nonexempt part (§30-4-40(b)). Reports disclosing the nature, substance and location of a crime reported as committed are public, though exempt information may be deleted (§30-4-50(A)(8)). For dashcam video of an officer-involved incident, §30-4-50(A)(9) sets a court route: the agency may ask a circuit court to order the video withheld, and the court may do so only on clear and convincing evidence that this exemption applies and outweighs the public interest, for a definite period. We found no statute that says when the investigation exemption stops applying; because it reaches only records whose release “would interfere with a prospective law enforcement proceeding,” ask again once charges are resolved. Body camera video is outside FOIA altogether, so this exemption does not decide it (§23-1-240(G)(1)).

Do traffic cameras in South Carolina record?

SCDOT does not record its cameras

SCDOT’s 511SC site says in its frequently asked questions: “Camera Footage: SCDOT DOES NOT RECORD TRAFFIC CAMERA VIDEO.” So there is no recorded state highway camera video to request. The same page notes that the Charleston-area beach cameras are run by the cities of Folly Beach, Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms, not SCDOT. City and county traffic cameras are separate systems; ask that government’s FOIA officer in writing at once whether it records and how long it keeps footage. For other SCDOT records, send a FOIA request to SCDOT’s FOIA Officer by email to SCDOTFOIAInfo@scdot.gov, by fax to 803-766-1006, or by mail to SCDOT, ATTN: Freedom of Information Officer, P.O. Box 191, Columbia, SC 29202, with a timeline, the county and the location; questions go to 803-737-1347.

Red-light and speed cameras

No photo-only red-light or speed tickets

A uniform traffic citation for speeding may not be issued based in whole or in part on photographic evidence, and one for disregarding a traffic control device (such as a red light) may not be issued based in whole on photographic evidence, whether or not the camera was attended; citations for these offenses must be issued in person during a traffic stop, not by mail (§56-7-35(A), (B)). Local governments may not issue such photo-based citations either (§56-5-710(B)). Photo or video evidence may still be used at a hearing to corroborate an officer who personally saw the offense. Exceptions: toll collection; passing a stopped school bus, where a school bus may carry a digital video recording device and a citation may rest on its images (§§56-5-2770(D)(2), 56-5-2773, 56-7-35(C)); and photo citations during a declared emergency that triggers federal motor carrier relief, which must be served in person within one hour unless a collision occurred and fault cannot be determined immediately or the party at fault is receiving medical treatment (§56-5-70(E)). We found no statute that restricts who may see school bus camera video; the Act’s definition of a public record covers recordings held by a public body (§30-4-20(c)), subject to the §30-4-40 exemptions, so ask the school district that runs the bus promptly.

If your request is denied

Circuit court within 1 year

We found no administrative appeal or ombudsman in the Act: its enforcement route is the circuit court. A citizen of the State may apply to the circuit court for a declaratory judgment, an injunction, or both, no later than one year after the alleged violation; the chief administrative judge must schedule an initial hearing within 10 days of service on all parties, and if the case is not decided then, the court must set a schedule to conclude it within six months of filing, extendable for good cause (§30-4-100(A)). A violation is treated as an irreparable injury. If you prevail you may be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, or part of them if you prevail in part (§30-4-100(B)); in a hearing under §30-4-110, a court may also award actual or compensatory damages and, if the agency arbitrarily and capriciously violated the Act by refusing or delaying disclosure, impose a civil fine of $500 (§30-4-110(C), (F)). An agency may itself go to circuit court for relief from unduly burdensome, overly broad, vague or repetitive requests, or when it cannot determine in good faith whether information is exempt (§30-4-110(A)). Remember that a missed deadline counts as approval of nonexempt records (§30-4-30(C)). Body camera video is not reached by these remedies; it comes through discovery or a subpoena in a pending case, or a court order (§23-1-240(G)(5)). You may want to ask a lawyer before filing suit.

What to do now

1. 1

   Send written FOIA requests today

   Write to each agency that responded. Name the date, time, location and case number, ask for dashcam, dispatch and photo records, and ask that they be preserved.

2. 2

   Attach the TR-310 for Highway Patrol

   The Department of Public Safety needs both sides of the crash report with a request for crash photos or video. Order the report from SCDMV first.

3. 3

   Plan for body camera video

   It is not available under FOIA. Ask the agency whether it will release it voluntarily, or obtain it through discovery, a subpoena or a court order.

4. 4

   Track the 10-business-day answer

   The agency must give its decision within 10 business days (20 for records over two years old). No timely answer counts as approval of nonexempt records.

5. 5

   Look for private footage now

   SCDOT does not record its cameras and photo tickets are banned. Post the crash on the bounty board: nearby dashcams often hold the only footage.

Frequently asked questions