In March 2023, the Dallas County Prosecutor’s Office was informed by the Dallas Police Department (DPD) of an internal review conducted by the DPD’s Body Worn Camera Team at the end of 2022. The review revealed an issue related to older video files, spanning from 2016 to 2021, which had been correctly categorized but were deleted in accordance with the retention periods in place at the time.
Upon discovering this issue, the Prosecutor’s Office immediately collaborated with the DPD to devise an efficient process for reviewing potentially affected cases. A list of 113 cases set for trial at that time, involving the death of the complainant, was generated through triaging efforts. The DPD’s Digital Media Evidence (DME) Unit then conducted a comprehensive review, commonly known as a “triple check,” to identify any missing videos. Some cases were unaffected, while others were found to be impacted.
Parties involved in affected cases were provided with an audit trail of deleted videos, uploaded to DallasCountyProsecutor (DCP, formerly known as TechShare Prosecutor) by the DPD’s DME Unit. Subsequently, a protocol was established by the Prosecutor’s Office to request a “triple check” search for videos in all cases set for trial. Beginning in June 2023, weekly bulk requests were sent to the DPD’s DME Unit for cases with trial settings reflected in DCP. Parties in affected cases continue to receive audit trails via DCP upload.
The Dallas County Prosecutor’s Office, recognizing DPD as its largest filing agency, acknowledges the potential impact of this video file deletion issue on thousands of cases. Due to resource constraints, neither the Prosecutor’s Office nor the DPD can proactively review each case filed during the relevant period.
To address this, the Prosecutor’s Office has notified bar associations about the video file deletion issue and published the notification on their website. Defense attorneys with questions or those wishing to request a review of a specific disposed case for the video file deletion issue are encouraged to follow a provided protocol for making such requests.
As of now, the Prosecutor’s Office has not encountered a case in which any deleted video has proven to be material to the case. The newly established protocol aims to ensure effective resource utilization in the pursuit of justice, and the office remains hopeful that it will contribute to this objective going forward.
