Blue Surveillance Acquires Body Camera Footage of Wheat Ridge Police Officer Misconduct After Legal Struggle with City
Wheat Ridge Police Department initially refused to release footage of former Officer Carlos Bowdre holding a gun against an unarmed man’s head
Blue Surveillance acquired body camera footage of a Wheat Ridge Police Department officer’s misconduct after an almost three month legal struggle where the City of Wheat Ridge and the police department illegally refused to release it.
It required legal pressure from Attorney Rachael Johnson of the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press on behalf of Blue Surveillance to finally see the footage where now former officer Carlos Bowdre said, "I'll put a bullet in your fucking head,” while holding a pistol flat against an unarmed man’s head in May 2025.
Bowdre later stated in the internal affairs investigation looking into his actions that the public perspective of this would look “terrible,” and if the public saw the video of him "putting a gun to the guy's head, it looks horrifying. It looks like the cops are just gonna, are bullies, they look like they're a bunch of gang members.” Bowdre was terminated for cause a few months later for the incident.
“Accountability only occurs through transparency,” Andrew Fraieli, executive director of Blue Surveillance, said. “We won’t stop fighting for the documentation and records the public are legally obligated to that brings this about.”
Wheat Ridge’s argument was that, because the footage was part of the case against the person arrested which had been dismissed and sealed, the footage was also sealed and so they could not release it.
According to the disciplinary memorandum against Bowdre, the criminal case against the man was dismissed and sealed by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office because the “conduct by Officer Bowdre was too aggravating for the charges filed.”
The memorandum also states that the deputy district attorney handling the case called Bowdre’s conduct "personally, one of the most egregious things I've seen," and that it wasn't in the best interest of justice to pursue the case.
The town’s argument was nevertheless legally invalid.
As Johnson stated to the town: “The sealing of the Court file is irrelevant because the Bowdre IA Report and body worn camera footage...exists outside of the context of the court file and are public records that must be disclosed. Placing records that the general assembly deemed public behind a case file cannot prohibit its release.”
Additionally, the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act — CCJRA — mandates the release of completed internal affairs reports investigating the in-uniform or on duty conduct of an officer related to alleged misconduct involving a member of the public.
Wheat Ridge City Attorney Gerald Dahl eventually released the footage with no comment on the reasoning for changing their mind. The Wheat Ridge Police Department then tried to charge Blue Surveillance for the footage which is against case law under Yellow Scene Magazine v. City of Boulder — the case found that fees cannot be applied to body camera footage mandated to be released due to showing reported officer misconduct under The Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act.
"The Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act is clear,” Johnson told Blue Surveillance. “If there is a complaint of officer misconduct involving a member of the public, then the body camera footage of that incident must be publicly released. Period. The Act could not be more important in situations like this one. There's more work to do, but it's good to know that accountability is possible."
