By Paul B. Johnson

High Point Enterprise

RANDOLPH COUNTY -- A Randolph County judge decided Tuesday against releasing two Archdale Police Department vehicle dash-cam videos that recorded events the night of a fatal shooting of a University of North Carolina student in August along Interstate 85.

Superior Court Judge Brad Long ruled that releasing the videos would hinder the case and jeopardize the right of potential defendants to receive a fair trial.

Long indicated that neither video shows the shooting of 21-year-old student Courtland Smith by an Archdale police officer. The videos do "portray the interaction between Mr. Smith and the officers immediately prior to the shooting and actions taken by the officers after the shooting," the order states.

The judge also ruled that if no charges are filed in the case, the videos would be made available to the public. The videos also could be made public as part of evidence during a trial or, if not introduced in evidence, after any trial concludes.

An attorney representing several media outlets asked the judge Sept. 18 to unseal the videos. The Randolph County District Attorney's Office has argued against releasing the videos.

The case raises a legal question as to whether dash-cam law enforcement videos are public record under the state public records statutes. In his ruling, Long concludes that "the video is a record of criminal investigation" and not a public record as currently defined by statutes.

Smith was shot and killed by Archdale Police Department Officer Jeremy Paul Flinchum during a traffic stop Aug. 23.

Last month, authorities released the 911 call that Smith made as he drove along the interstate through Guilford and Randolph counties.

During the call, he told a Guilford County 911 dispatcher that he had been drinking alcohol, had a pistol and was trying to kill himself.