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Judge Orders Release Of Police Footage In Jose Charles Case

Jose Charles pictured with his mother, Tamara Figueroa. (Credit: Jordan Green/Triad City Beat)

A judge has authorized the release of police body-cam footage in the controversial case of Greensboro teenager Jose Charles. But the decision comes with strings attached.

The encounter between Charles and Greensboro police resulted in four counts against the minor, and plenty of debate over whether this was another incident of police brutality.

His mother, Tamara Figueroa, had left him alone for a moment at a festival, and when she returned, she says she saw a bloody scene, and an officer's hands around her son's neck.

The Greensboro Police Department says Charles had attacked an officer.

According to the News & Record, body camera footage of the incident will be released to the Greensboro City Council, on the condition council members don't talk about it in public.

This case is the first major test of House Bill 972, a law that went into effect last year that makes judges the arbiters of whether or not police body cam footage can be made public.

Sean Bueter joined WFDD in August 2015 as a reporter covering issues across the Piedmont Triad and beyond.Previously, Sean was a reporter, host and news director at WBOI in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a few hours from where he grew up. He also sorted Steve Inskeep's mail as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C.Sean has experience on a variety of beats, including race, wealth and poverty, economic development, and more. His work has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and APM's Marketplace.In his spare time, Sean plays tennis (reasonably well), golf (reasonably poorly), and scours local haunts for pinball machines to conquer.

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