El Paso Police say ‘community brief videos’ are meant to show the department’s transparency and give context to the public

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso Police Department held a news conference on Friday, May 3, where they said their reason for sharing 'community brief videos' is to demonstrate the department's transparency and provide context to the public when serious incidents happen.

Community brief videos are videos from body-worn cameras police have decided to release to the public proactively with the intention of providing awareness to the public.

On Thursday, May 2, EPPD shared one of these community brief videos regarding the in-custody death of 35-year-old Jonathan Rose Eddens on April 14, 2024.

While this incident is still under investigation, Sergeant Robert Gomez with El Paso Police said it's important for the public to see what happened since investigations in cases like this one can take up to two years.

"These are merely to give the community context and insight to what's happening and not have to wait two years. They're not meant to convince anybody that the officers or anybody is at fault. They are merely to give people perspective of what happens," said Gomez.

In cases like the one of Rose Eddens, where there are multiple officers with body-worn cameras, police say they choose to share the footage that shows the majority of the incident.

Despite these videos being shared with the public, anyone can request any video captured by an officer, as it is subject to the Public Information Act. However, this process can sometimes take time.

At this time, police said they will only have community brief videos with serious incidents like officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths.

“We are doing everything legally possible to be transparent while not jeopardizing these investigations. The officers involved, the employees of the police department, the person that's involved in these incidents, all have the right to have these incidents investigated," said Gomez regarding trying to demonstrate the department's transparency.