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

The public records law that gets you the video

Wisconsin Public Records Law, Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31 to 19.39

As soon as practicable, no set days

The law declares that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information about government, must be construed “in every instance with a presumption of complete public access,” and says access may be denied only in an exceptional case (Wis. Stat. § 19.31). A “record” includes recordings, films, tapes and electronically stored data (§ 19.32(2)), and any requester has a right to inspect a record and to receive a copy of a video recording “substantially as good as the original” (§ 19.35(1)(a), (d)). A request is sufficient if it reasonably describes the record, but it needs a reasonable limit on subject matter or time; it may be oral, but must be in writing before you can sue to enforce it, and it may not be refused because you will not identify yourself or say why you want it (§ 19.35(1)(h), (i)). A requester does not include a committed or incarcerated person, except for records that specifically refer to that person or the person’s minor children (§ 19.32(3)). Deadline: the authority must, “as soon as practicable and without delay,” either fill the request or tell you it is denying it in whole or in part and why (§ 19.35(4)(a)). The statute sets no number of days. The Department of Justice’s Public Records Law Compliance Guide (June 2025) says DOJ has stated that, generally, 10 working days is a reasonable time to respond to a simple request for a limited number of easily identifiable records, that broader requests or ones needing review or redaction may take longer, and that compliance at some unspecified future time is not allowed. A written request that is denied must get a written statement of reasons that tells you of your right to review by mandamus or by application to the attorney general or a district attorney (§ 19.35(4)(b)). Fees: a copy may cost no more than the actual, necessary and direct cost of reproduction unless another law sets a fee; locating a record may be charged only if that cost is $50 or more; mailing may be charged; fees may be waived or reduced in the public interest; and prepayment may be required over $5 (§ 19.35(3)(a), (c) to (f)). For video specifically, see the police video section: since March 31, 2024 a law enforcement agency may also charge the cost of redacting audio or video, with exceptions for people involved in the event (§ 19.35(3)(h)). Example, WisDOT only: its open records page lists $0.15 per printed page, $0.07 per page to scan paper, up to $0.14 per CD or DVD, no reproduction cost for records that already exist electronically, prepayment over $5, and acknowledgment of emailed requests within one business day.

Police body camera and dashcam video

Body cam open; kept 120 days minimum

Body cameras: Wisconsin has a specific statute, Wis. Stat. § 165.87 (2019 Wis. Act 108). An agency that uses body cameras must have a written policy on their use and on storage of the data, and must post it on its website if it has one (§ 165.87(1)(a), (e)). Retention: all body camera data must be kept at least 120 days after recording (§ 165.87(2)(a)). Data recording an encounter that resulted in the death of anyone or in actual or alleged physical injury, a custodial arrest, a search during a temporary questioning, or an officer’s use of force must be kept until final disposition of any investigation, case or complaint it pertains to (§ 165.87(2)(b)). Longer retention may be directed by an officer or agency, a board of police and fire commissioners, a prosecutor, a defendant, or a court that finds evidentiary value in a prosecution, and the directive must reach the agency within 120 days of the recording (§ 165.87(2)(c)); a crash victim is not on that list, so the records request rule below is your protection; data used in a criminal, civil or administrative proceeding may not be destroyed until final disposition, including appeals, or a court or hearing examiner’s order (§ 165.87(2)(d)). Most important for you: body camera data may not be destroyed during the period § 19.35(5) protects (§ 165.87(2)(e)), which runs from receipt of a records request until the request is granted or at least 60 days after it is denied, and longer while a mandamus action the agency has written notice of is pending (§ 19.35(5)). Access: body camera data are subject to inspection and copying under the Public Records Law (§ 165.87(3)(b)). State policy protects the privacy of a record subject who is a victim of a sensitive or violent crime, a minor, or in a place where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy: access to video of that person is provided only if the public interest is so great as to outweigh that policy, and then the face and other identifying details may be pixelated; the presumption does not apply if the person (or a parent or guardian, or next of kin of a deceased victim) does not object (§ 165.87(3)(c)1., 2.). A “record subject” is a known, identifiable person who is not suspected of a violation in connection with the officer’s presence (§ 165.87(3)(a)2.). The agency that used the camera is the legal custodian, and any other authority holding the data must deny a request for it (§ 165.87(3)(d)). Dashcams: § 165.87 by its terms covers a body camera used on an officer; we found no Wisconsin statute specific to squad car video, so it falls under the general Public Records Law and its balancing test. Redaction fee: a law enforcement agency may charge the actual, necessary and direct cost of redacting audio or video content (§ 19.35(3)(h)2.), but may not charge it to an individual directly involved in the event, that person’s attorney or authorized representative, or a parent or guardian of a minor; to an individual who certifies in writing the video will not be used for financial gain, not counting damages in a civil action, and who has made no more than 10 such requests to that agency that year (a false certification is a $10,000 forfeiture); or for a shooting involving an officer; and it must give you a written estimate first (§ 19.35(3)(h)3. to 7.). Example, Rhinelander Police Department only: its records page lists $10.00 per case for reproductions of audio, video or photograph records. Example, Wisconsin State Patrol only: its records page says requests may take 4 to 6 weeks and audio and video requests may take longer.

When police can hold video back

No blanket rule; case-by-case test

Wisconsin’s Public Records Law has no general statutory exemption for open police investigations. Records are withheld when a statute exempts them (Wis. Stat. § 19.36(1)), when federal law requires investigative information to be withheld (§ 19.36(2)), when common law does, or when the custodian shows under the balancing test that the public interest in withholding outweighs the strong presumption of access (§§ 19.31, 19.35(1)(a)). The Department of Justice’s Compliance Guide (June 2025) says: police reports of ongoing investigations are subject to the balancing test, but the interests against disclosure most likely will outweigh those favoring release; for closed investigations there is no blanket rule and the test is applied case by case; and the fact that an investigation is open and referred to the district attorney is not by itself enough to deny access, so the custodian must name specific public policy reasons, such as protecting crime detection strategy or preventing prejudice to the ongoing investigation (citing Linzmeyer v. Forcey, 2002 WI 84, and Portage Daily Register v. Columbia County Sheriff’s Department, 2008 WI App 30). The Guide also says a district attorney may refuse to release a police report in its own prosecution file, but the police agency may not rely on that rule to deny its own copy. Other limits that can apply: informant identities must be removed (§ 19.36(8)(b)); records of a current investigation of possible employee misconduct are closed until the investigation ends (§ 19.36(10)(b)); and the special right of a person to see personally identifiable information about himself or herself does not reach records collected in connection with an investigation that may lead to enforcement or court action (§ 19.35(1)(am)1.), though the general right of access still applies. Body camera video of an encounter with an injury is kept until final disposition of the case (§ 165.87(2)(b)1.), so a delay while charges are pending does not mean it will be lost. If part of a record can be released, the agency must release that part and delete only what is exempt (§ 19.36(6)).

Do traffic cameras in Wisconsin record?

WisDOT policy: kept 72 hours

511 Wisconsin gives live access to over 500 traffic cameras statewide, watched by WisDOT’s 24/7 Traffic Management Center. WisDOT’s Traffic Engineering, Operations & Safety Manual (section 17-3-1, dated May 2015, the newest official statement we found) says its CCTV video files are stored on Traffic Management Center servers for 72 hours and are then automatically overwritten and no longer available; operators can extract specific segments within that 72-hour window; requests for footage should be answered within 10 business days; video segments with recorded incidents must be kept at least 120 days, or until the case is closed if a legal hold is in place; and requested footage is put on a storage device that must be picked up within 120 days. The manual also says images showing fatalities, injured people or other details that could violate privacy are not released to the media or traffic information providers, and gives the Traffic Management Center’s contact as statewide.toc@dot.state.wi.us or (414) 227-2166. We found no statement about recording on the 511 Wisconsin site or WisDOT’s 511 page. Because of the 72-hour overwrite, ask on the day of the crash: email WisDOT’s open records address, dotopenrecords@dot.wi.gov, which WisDOT says it acknowledges within one business day, and name the highway, direction, nearest exit or cross street, and the time window. City and county cameras are separate systems; ask that government in writing right away.

Red-light and speed cameras

No photo radar; no red-light law found

Speed cameras: the state and local authorities “may not use photo radar speed detection,” defined as detecting a vehicle’s speed by radar combined with photographic identification of the vehicle, to enforce the state speed limits or local ordinances that conform to them (Wis. Stat. § 349.02(3)). Red-light cameras: we found no Wisconsin statute that authorizes red-light camera enforcement, and no camera enforcement provisions in chapters 345, 346 or 349. 2025 Senate Bill 375 and Assembly Bill 371, which would have allowed speed safety cameras and red-light cameras (“traffic control photographic systems”) in a first class city (presently only Milwaukee), did not become law: the Legislature’s history pages show both bills “Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1” on March 23, 2026. So we found no state-authorized red-light or speed camera images to request. School buses: since April 4, 2026 a school bus may carry interior audio or video recording if the school board or school’s governing body adopts a policy and posts notice, but those recordings “shall remain confidential” and may be used only by school officials and law enforcement for investigations, school discipline and criminal prosecutions about incidents in or around the bus (Wis. Stat. § 347.446, 2025 Wis. Act 160), so expect it to be closed to a public records request; if a school bus was in your crash, tell the investigating police agency the video may exist. The 2025 bills for school bus stop-arm cameras (AB 561 and SB 508) did not pass; their history pages show them failing on March 23, 2026 under Senate Joint Resolution 1. Any other camera footage held by a city, county or school district is requested from that body under the Public Records Law.

If your request is denied

Mandamus suit, or ask DA or AG

If an authority withholds a record or delays access after a written request, you may do either or both of these: bring a mandamus action asking a court to order release, or ask in writing the district attorney of the county where the record is, or the attorney general, to bring that action for you; the district attorney or attorney general may do so but is not required to (Wis. Stat. § 19.37(1)). The statute sets no administrative appeal step, and the notice of claim statutes do not apply to these suits (§ 19.37(1n)). A requester who prevails in whole or in substantial part is awarded reasonable attorney fees, damages of at least $100 and other actual costs (§ 19.37(2)(a)); punitive damages may be awarded for an arbitrary and capricious denial or delay or excessive fees (§ 19.37(3)), and the authority or custodian may forfeit up to $1,000 (§ 19.37(4)). For a body camera redaction or denial based on a record subject’s privacy, § 165.87(3)(c)3. points to the same mandamus remedy. Deadline: the Department of Justice’s Compliance Guide says a public records mandamus action must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues, citing § 893.93(1m)(a), and within 90 days of the denial for a committed or incarcerated person (§ 19.37(1m)). Free help: the Department of Justice’s Office of Open Government runs a Public Records and Open Meetings help line at (608) 267-2220, opengov@widoj.gov, P.O. Box 7857, Madison, WI 53707-7857. Act fast regardless: the agency may not destroy the requested record until at least 60 days after a denial, and not while a mandamus action you have given it written notice of is pending (§ 19.35(5)).

What to do now

1. 1

   Ask WisDOT for highway camera video today

   WisDOT’s policy says highway camera video is overwritten after 72 hours. Email dotopenrecords@dot.wi.gov with the road, direction, nearest exit and time window.

2. 2

   Send a written request for police video

   Ask the agency that responded for body camera and squad video, giving the date, time, location and report number. A pending request stops the video from being destroyed.

3. 3

   Say you were directly involved

   State in the request that you were directly involved in the crash, so the agency may not charge you its redaction fee, and ask for a written estimate of any other cost.

4. 4

   If refused, ask the DA or sue

   Ask the district attorney or the attorney general in writing to bring a mandamus action, or file one yourself. The DOJ help line is (608) 267-2220.

5. 5

   Post the crash on the bounty board

   Dashcam and business camera footage is not in any public agency’s files and is often overwritten within days.

Frequently asked questions