Lawsuits, Surveillance and a 300-Mile Road Trip: The Story That Went Viral

The Cardinal: News of Virginia by Dutchie Jessee

Episode notes

What happens when you request government surveillance footage of your own car? For Cardinal News Executive Editor Jeffrey Schwaner, the answer was a lawsuit. After driving over 300 miles across Southwest and Southside Virginia, Jeff tested how transparent local police departments are with their public surveillance data. only to find two localities fighting to keep the footage secret. In this episode, host Dutchie Jessee sits down with Jeff to unpack his viral investigation, the legal battles that followed and what this means for transparency, privacy, and public access to government-collected data.

Keywords
VirginiaCardinal NewsGovernmentpodcastnewsroanokecitydanvilleroanoke vadatasurveillancestate of surveillancepolice departmentprivacycamerassafetystalkingcrimeswvapoliceflockfootagemartinsvillelynchburglawsuitcourtcourt hearing