South Bend Common Council passes amended police footage fee schedule bill

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The South Bend Common Council passed bill 43-25 with a 7-2 vote, establishing a fee schedule for requesting a hard copy of law enforcement body or dash camera footage set to take effect Jan. 1, 2026.

The council made several amendments to the original bill, including cutting the hourly rate to redact the video from the originally suggested $50, to $25, with a cap of up to $75 per video, instead of the original $150 per video.

They also added a section that requires the board to review the effectiveness of the fee schedule a year after it’s put in place, as well as a new subsection that would require public record request forms to include a statement that if a complaint is made, the Community Police Review Board director will review the footage.

You can view the entire meeting once it's posted online.