The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals ruled today that surveillance video which shows Sooners running back Joe Mixon punching a woman in the face is considered part of the public record and must be released when requested, because the recording is part of the court file on Mixon’s case. However, it will still be a while before the video becomes public, if it ever is.
KFOR has a copy of the court’s ruling, which can be read here. It concerns a lawsuit against the city brought by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, who were seeking to obtain the video—which was shown in court as evidence in Mixon’s criminal trial—under the state’s open records laws.
Rick Knighton, assistant city attorney of the City of Norman, had claimed in October of 2014 that the footage had been given back to Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe, where the incident took place. An employee had said at the time that the DVD had been destroyed:
When reached after today’s ruling, Knighton hinted that he doesn’t agree with the judge’s decision, and mentioned that since Mixon can appeal, the video won’t be released for at least a few weeks:
Mixon, who served a one-year team suspension for the assault, gave minimal answers about the incident at December’s media availability before the Orange Bowl.
Photo: AP
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