DA Hayden weighs new policy on release of body cam footage, amid outcry over police shooting

The Suffolk County district attorney said he’ll develop a new policy for the release of police body camera footage, amid criticism of his refusal to make the video public in a manslaughter case against a Boston police officer.

District Attorney Kevin Hayden invited about 40 local elected officials, clergy members and community leaders to a closed-door meeting he held to seek input on the new policy.

Wednesday’s meeting came more than two months after Boston police officer Nicholas O'Malley fatally shot Stephenson King, a 39-year-old Dorchester man, following a suspected carjacking.

Hayden’s office is prosecuting O’Malley; it’s the first time a Boston officer has been charged with manslaughter for an on-duty incident in more than 30 years. The DA has faced multiple calls from city leaders and residents to release the police body camera footage, which has been viewed only by law enforcement and King’s family.

Hayden did not show the group the video on Wednesday, according to James Borghesani, a spokesman for the office. Nor did he share specific details about the O’Malley case.

Rather, attendees said, the group discussed probable cause, grand jury functions and transparency at the meeting.

"We did explain why we're still not releasing the video at this time, because of legal constraints,” Hayden told reporters after the meeting, “and wanting to make sure that the legal process and the integrity of the process continues to be maintained."

O’Malley’s defense attorney, David Yannetti, blasted Hayden in posts on X for holding the meeting, accusing him of trying to “proactively poison the jury pool” and of possible “prosecutorial misconduct.”

“This almost certainly violates Massachusetts' (and almost every state's) Rule 3.8 prohibition against prosecutors making unnecessary extrajudicial statements which likely will prejudice a defendant in an open case,” Yannetti wrote. “Making such statements in a ‘closed, invite only setting’ is even worse because there may be no record of what was said to whom and for what purpose.”

In an email to WBUR Thursday, Yannetti said, “I expect that I will have more to say about this in the future, but I’m going to wait until I get more information about what went on inside that closed-door meeting.”

Boston City Councilor Miniard Culpepper, who has repeatedly called for the release of the body camera footage, said Wednesday’s meeting was “eye-opening.” Still, he said, the lack of shared video looms large.

“As long as the body cam is withheld from public viewing,” he said, “there will still be questions with regard to transparency and accountability.”

Culpepper said he wants Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox to follow Hayden’s lead.

“ Mr. Commissioner, it's time for you to come out and have a community meeting,” Culpepper said.

In an interview on WCVB, Cox stood by the “transparency” of his department, and said O’Malley’s upcoming trial will underscore that.