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Judge To Rule On Release Of Video In Neville Case

Black Live Matter protesters in front of the Forsyth County Government Center, Tuesday, July 30th. DAVID FORD/WFDD

A North Carolina judge will decide whether the body camera footage capturing the death of John Neville will be seen by the public.

This comes following weeks of protests demanding the footage be released.

In December, the 56-year-old was detained in the Forsyth County Jail, but his subsequent death wasn't publicly announced for seven months. County officials say an autopsy revealed Neville died from complications of being restrained at the jail. 

An investigation led to charges against five detention officers and a nurse earlier this month.

Fox8 News reports that a superior court judge heard arguments on Wednesday from a lawyer representing a group of media outlets seeking the release of the footage.

And Neville's family, who originally did not want the video to be seen by the public, now supports the release, saying it could provide context for those who choose to protest.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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