How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in West Virginia

The public records law that gets you the video

West Virginia Freedom of Information Act, W. Va. Code §29B-1-1 to §29B-1-7

5 days, excl. weekends and holidays

“Every person has a right to inspect or copy any public record of a public body in this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by section four of this article” (W. Va. Code §29B-1-3(a)), and “person” includes any natural person, corporation, partnership, firm or association (§29B-1-2(3)), so you need not live in West Virginia. A public record is any writing containing information prepared or received by a public body that relates to the conduct of the public’s business, and “writing” includes “photographs, cards, tapes, recordings or other documentary materials regardless of physical form or characteristics” (§29B-1-2(5), (6)), so police video is covered. How to ask: the request “shall be made directly to the custodian of such public record” and must “state with reasonable specificity the information sought” (§29B-1-3(b), (d)). The Attorney General’s FOIA Handbook (updated 2026) says the Act does not require a written request but that a written one is advisable to avoid misunderstandings about timing and scope. Deadline: the custodian “shall as soon as is practicable but within a maximum of five days not including Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays” furnish copies, tell you the time and place to inspect and copy the materials, or deny the request in writing with reasons (§29B-1-3(d)). If the records exist in electronic form, the custodian must provide copies on electronic media if you ask (§29B-1-3(c)). The Handbook says a request is presumed to be for all or any of the information, not all or none, and that exempt parts must be redacted or segregated and the rest released unless that would impose an unreasonably high burden or expense, which the agency must explain in writing. Fees: a public body “may establish fees reasonably calculated to reimburse it for its actual cost in making reproductions of records” and “may not charge a search or retrieval fee or otherwise seek reimbursement based on a man-hour basis” (§29B-1-3(e)). The Act sets no video-specific fee. Example from an official form: the State Police request form (WVSP Form 141, revised 1/2024), made under the Act, lists $50.00 for video or audio tapes and $25.00 for each set of up to 12 photographs; the form does not explain how those amounts relate to actual reproduction cost. Each public body must report every request and its outcome to the Secretary of State, which keeps a public online database of them (§29B-1-3(f), §29B-1-3a).

Police body camera and dashcam video

No body cam statute found; FOIA applies

We found no West Virginia statute specifically governing police body-worn or dashboard camera recordings, their release or their retention; a full-text search of the West Virginia Code for body camera, body-worn, dashboard camera, in-car and mobile video terms found none. The only section we found that names them is the 2026 rule limiting police surveillance cameras on private land, which says “a law-enforcement officer’s vehicle dash camera or body camera shall not be considered a surveillance camera” (W. Va. Code §62-1A-12(c), added by SB 84, effective June 4, 2026); it says nothing about public access. So the Freedom of Information Act governs, and its exemptions are the reasons an agency may give for withholding video: records of law-enforcement agencies that deal with the detection and investigation of crime, and internal records maintained for internal use in law enforcement matters (§29B-1-4(a)(4)); information of a personal nature such as that kept in a personal, medical or similar file, if disclosure would be an unreasonable invasion of privacy, unless the public interest by clear and convincing evidence requires disclosure, and this does not stop you from getting your own file (§29B-1-4(a)(2)); and information specifically exempted by another statute (§29B-1-4(a)(5)). The Handbook reports that the Supreme Court of Appeals held in Charleston Gazette v. Smithers, 232 W. Va. 449 (2013), that a state police officer’s on-duty conduct, including patrolling, arrests, searches and investigating crimes, does not fall within the privacy exemption. The Act is to be liberally construed (§29B-1-1), there is a presumption of public accessibility to all public records (§29B-1-4(a)), the Handbook reports that the Supreme Court of Appeals construes the exemptions strictly (Hechler v. Casey, syllabus point 4), and in court the burden is on the public body to sustain its action (§29B-1-5(2)). Juveniles: the State Police say they routinely redact information that could identify juveniles charged with criminal acts, and the Handbook notes that under Ogden Newspapers v. City of Williamstown (1994) access to incident reports involving juveniles requires redacting information that could reasonably identify them. 911 calls are separate: calls to a county answering point “reporting alleged criminal conduct” are confidential and released only on a court order, a valid subpoena or criminal discovery, but a person may get a transcription without a court order for a reasonable fee set by the center director, with the caller’s identity removed (if the transcript cannot be redacted to protect the caller, the answering point may decline and you may ask a court to order its release); other emergency calls are not confidential, and all recorded calls must be kept at least two years (§24-6-13). Where to send it: for State Police crashes, email foia@wvsp.gov or write to Superintendent, ATTN: FOIA Request, 725 Jefferson Road, South Charleston, WV 25309-1698 (State Police Legal Division); for city or county crashes, that agency’s records custodian. Ask for every body camera and in-car camera recording of the crash by every officer present.

When police can hold video back

Investigation records may be withheld

The exemption is W. Va. Code §29B-1-4(a)(4)(A): “Records of law-enforcement agencies that deal with the detection and investigation of crime and the internal records and notations of such law-enforcement agencies which are maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement.” The statute sets no time limit and does not say when the exemption ends. The Attorney General’s FOIA Handbook (updated 2026) summarizes how the Supreme Court of Appeals has narrowed it: its primary purpose “is to prevent premature disclosure of investigatory materials which might be used in a law-enforcement action” (Hechler v. Casey, 175 W. Va. 434 (1985)); it does not reach “information generated pursuant to routine administration or oversight” and is “limited to information compiled as part of an inquiry into specific suspected violations of the law” (Hechler, as quoted in In re Charleston Gazette FOIA Request, 222 W. Va. 771 (2008)); and police incident reports fall within the exemption, yet “To the extent that information in an incident report dealing with the detection and investigation of crime will not compromise an ongoing law enforcement investigation, … there is a public right of access” (Ogden Newspapers, Inc. v. City of Williamstown, 192 W. Va. 648 (1994), syllabus point 1). The Handbook adds that because the Court relied on federal cases, the federal FOIA’s grounds (interference with enforcement proceedings, fair trial, privacy, confidential sources, techniques, and safety) may be persuasive. So in a crash with criminal charges in prospect, such as DUI or a hit-and-run, the agency may cite §29B-1-4(a)(4) while the case is open; if it does, ask again when the case closes; a denial must be in writing with reasons (§29B-1-3(d)(3)). We found no official guidance applying the exemption to crash video specifically.

Do traffic cameras in West Virginia record?

No WVDOT recording policy found

The Department of Transportation’s Transportation Management Center in Charleston runs 24 hours a day and lists among its core functions “Real-time traffic monitoring via CCTV cameras” and “Traffic data collection and archiving” (WVDOT Traffic Engineering Division page). The WV511 site shows “a live feed of the traffic camera” you select, and its FAQ says TMC operators often use “WVDOT traffic surveillance cameras to visually inspect a crash scene.” Neither page, nor any WVDOT page we read, says whether camera video is recorded or how long any footage is kept, and “archiving” there refers to traffic data without saying whether it includes video. Because a recording that does exist is a public record in any form (W. Va. Code §29B-1-2(6)), ask at once if a state camera faced the crash: WVDOT’s Legal Division is the agency’s hub for FOIA requests and takes them through its online DOT FOIA Request Form; give the route, direction, nearest mile marker or exit, county, and the date and time window. Cameras owned by a city belong to that city, so send a separate request to the city’s custodian. West Virginia Turnpike toll cameras are different: videotapes, photographs and other recorded images prepared for electronic toll collection are for the exclusive use of the Parkways Authority, its agents and employees and law enforcement, “may not be considered a public record” under the Freedom of Information Act, and may be produced only on a properly issued subpoena or court order in a civil or criminal action, under confidentiality rules, and the statute says all such images “shall be destroyed within sixty days following the conclusion of the action or proceeding” (§17-16D-9).

Red-light and speed cameras

Photo enforcement barred; toll video ok

West Virginia bars police from automated camera enforcement of traffic laws. “No police officer may utilize a traffic law photo-monitoring device to determine compliance with, or to detect a violation of, a municipal or county ordinance or any provision of this code that governs or regulates the operation of motor vehicles,” and such a violation “may not be proved by evidence obtained by the use of a traffic law photo-monitoring device” (W. Va. Code §17C-6-7a(b), (c)). A photo-monitoring device is a camera system with a vehicle sensor that automatically produces photographs, video or digital images of a vehicle, its operator or its plate (§17C-6-7a(a)). The section does not bar radar or laser speed measurement, or use of such a device for other lawful purposes (§17C-6-7a(d), (e)). So there are no red-light or speed camera programs to ask for images from. Exceptions written into other sections: tolls may be collected and enforced by electronic toll collection, which includes a video collection system, notwithstanding §17C-6-7a (§17-16D-2(3), §17-16D-3), and the plate recorded by that system creates a rebuttable presumption, for civil enforcement, that the owner was operating the vehicle or had consented to another person operating it (§17-16D-2(7), §17-16D-6(b)); those images are not public records (§17-16D-9). School buses: every county board of education must install forward-facing and rear-facing cameras on all school buses purchased on or after July 1, 2019, “for the purpose of enforcing this section and for any other lawful purpose” (§17C-12-7(h)); we found no official guidance on how that provision fits with §17C-6-7a. A 2026 bill to let bus camera footage of violations be sent directly to police for citations (SB 558) was vetoed by the Governor on April 1, 2026, and a similar House bill (HB 5587) stalled in Senate Judiciary, per the Legislature’s bill status pages. Work zone speed camera bills did not pass in 2024 (HB 4266), 2025 (HB 3117, SB 696) or 2026 (HB 4363). If a school bus camera may have caught your crash, ask the county board of education under the Freedom of Information Act; it may withhold or redact under the Act’s exemptions.

If your request is denied

Act names no appeal body; circuit court

A written denial must give the reasons, “indicate that the responsibility of the custodian … to produce the requested records or documents is at an end,” and afford you the opportunity to sue for injunctive or declaratory relief in the circuit court of the county where the record is kept (W. Va. Code §29B-1-3(d)(3)). The Act creates no administrative appeal and names no reviewing office. Court: “Any person denied the right to inspect the public record of a public body may institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in the circuit court in the county where the public record is kept”; the court decides de novo, “the burden is on the public body to sustain its action,” the court may view the records in camera, a custodian who disobeys an order to produce may be punished for contempt, and these cases are heard “at the earliest practicable date” (§29B-1-5). A person denied access who successfully sues “shall be entitled to recover his or her attorney fees and court costs from the public body” (§29B-1-7); the Handbook reports that fees are proper if the suit “contributed to the defendant’s disclosure” (Daily Gazette Co. v. West Virginia Development Office, 1999), and that a self-represented litigant who pays no attorney is not entitled to attorney fees (Smith v. Bradley, 2007). A custodian who willfully violates the Act is guilty of a misdemeanor, fined $200 to $1,000, jailed up to twenty days, or both (§29B-1-6). The Act sets no deadline to sue, and we found none in the Handbook. The Attorney General’s FOIA Handbook invites questions about the Act at (304) 558-2021, but we found no statement that it reviews denials for the public. Because we found no retention rule for police video, ask the agency in writing to preserve the footage while you dispute a denial.

What to do now

1. 1

   Send a FOIA request today

   Email the custodian of the agency that worked the crash for all body camera and in-car video, giving the date, time, location and report number. The reply is due in five days, not counting weekends or holidays.

2. 2

   Ask the agency to preserve the video

   We found no West Virginia rule on how long police or WVDOT keep video. Ask in writing, in the same request, that all footage of the crash be kept.

3. 3

   Check other cameras now

   Ask WVDOT through its FOIA form whether a state camera recorded the crash, ask the city about its cameras, and post the crash on the bounty board for nearby dashcam footage.

4. 4

   If refused, get the reasons in writing

   A denial must be written and give reasons. The next step the Act provides is a suit in the circuit court of the county where the record is kept.

Frequently asked questions