Editorial: Release body camera video

State authorities need to release the body camera video of the Sherman Park shooting as soon as possible. We understand the Department of Justice is still investigating the incident, but what the video depicts already has been described by local authorities, and keeping it from the public only fuels speculation on what it reveals of the fatal shooting of Sylville Smith by police officer Dominique Heaggan.

Consider this from a Journal Sentinel story: "'Because the video has not been released yet, there’s a belief that it’s going to show that this officer was wrong and they’re trying to alter this video somehow, someway,' said Shawn Moore, an activist who helped found the Safe Zones initiative, which works to interrupt violence in the city."

Or this from a letter sent to state Attorney General Brad Schimel by the ACLU's Chris Ahmuty: "You have said that you will not 'release any of the video evidence at this time.' Failure to timely release video of similar incidents has been a source of unrest in Chicago, leading officials there to adopt a policy of prompt release of video.  Note that Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn has already expressed conclusions drawn from a video the public has not been allowed to see."

And Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Flynn said they hoped the video would be released soon.

They're all right. More harm in the form of unwarranted speculation can come from not releasing the video than from releasing it. Tensions in the Milwaukee community remain high. The community needs answers to fundamental questions regarding the shooting that sparked rioting in the Sherman Park neighborhood last week.

In describing what he saw on the video, Flynn said, "The individual was armed. The individual did turn toward the officer with the firearm in his hand. You can't tell when the officer discharges his firearm."

We trust that's what happened, but the public needs to know that's what happened. Only release of the video can provide that knowledge. By the same token, a video of the fatal police shooting of Jay Anderson in Wauwatosa two months ago also needs to be released. The lack of transparency in that case also hurts public confidence.

Earlier this week, the DOJ said in a statement that department officials are “working expeditiously” to provide a “transparent view” of what took place, but was “not prepared to release any of the video evidence at this time.” That's almost an oxymoron. Providing a "transparent view" requires releasing a speedy release of the video, especially since local authorities such as Flynn and Barrett already have commented on it.

The department normally doesn’t release the videos of a shooting or death until the investigation is complete and the district attorney decides whether to issue charges in a death, the Journal Sentinel reported. Copies of the video are then given to the media along with all the other evidence collected, such as witness interviews, 911 tapes and photographs from the scene.

But the department should reconsider that policy, especially in this case and for this community at this time.

"It's a delicate balance between what the community needs to know ... and the criminal justice process," Flynn said this week.

Flynn is right, but in this case, that balance should fall on the side of the community's need to know. Schimel has been a champion of open government. He should prove that again by releasing the video now.