The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in court said The Charlotte Observer’s efforts to obtain the police video published in its series on the Sanrico McGill shooting was a “fishing expedition for sensational journalism.”
The newspaper filed its petition after District Attorney Spencer Merriweather revealed in a public report that police shot at McGill 25 times after family told officers he was “not mentally well” and asked them not to shoot. An Observer reporter, in a Sept. 6, 2024, court petition, argued that “public release of video is important for transparency and for the public to have trust in decisions by police and the district attorney.”
Under North Carolina law, only a judge can order release of law-enforcement video. Police chiefs, the public and the press must petition the court for such videos…