SPOKANE, Wash. --- A lawyer for a man who was charged with assaulting an officer is threatening to sue the police for releasing video footage of the incident that was recorded with a body cam.
Cory Counts was charged with assaulting a Spokane Police Officer after he filmed the officer helping a man, but then allegedly attacked the officer.
At the heart of this controversy is the timing of the video's release.
"My client hasn't even been arraigned. It happens Monday where he'll plead not guilty,” Count’s attorney said.
Cory Count's attorney insists public opinion was swayed against his client after this video went viral.
Count's lawyer said it was unfair for SPD to distribute the footage before his client even appeared in court.
"We've got 2,000 views and over 2,000 views all disparaging to my client,” Count’s attorney said.
2 On Your Side asked SPD about the possible lawsuit and officers said they were in the right to release the video because the incident took place on a public sidewalk.
"Everybody had a right to record that video on a public sidewalk,” Spokane Police Department’s Jordan Ferguson.
Authorities said any police interaction that occurs on a sidewalk is fair game for public consumption.
"Any other bystander could've recorded that. It was out in the public with no expectation of privacy for anybody,” Ferguson said.
Cory Count's lawyer strongly disagrees and said distributing the video was illegal because his client had not even appeared in court.
"It's an RCW in Washington state, which specifically says police shall not disseminate until civil or criminal action is complete,” Count’s attorney argued.
Count's attorney said he will be meeting with another lawyer on Monday to discuss the possibility of a lawsuit against the Spokane Police Department.
Warning, the video below contains graphic language.
