“Think of it like this: Let’s say this was weapons-related. The Police Department took a weapon into custody in support of the prosecution,” Knighton said. “That case is resolved by plea or trial. Once that case is over and the DA’s Office sends us notice they don’t need that evidence anymore, the person who owned that weapon came and said, ‘I want my weapon back,’ we’d give it to them. This isn’t any different than that.”

As to whether there is a timeline to release the video, Knighton said: “I can tell you our office at this time doesn’t plan to release it.

“Probably the only way our copy from our litigation file is going to get released is some court is going to have to say you’re obligated to release it.”

Only two copies of the video remain — the one in the Norman City Attorney’s Office and another retained by victim Amelia Molitor’s attorney, Ben Baker.

The video was watched by journalists earlier this month following multiple open-records requests made before Thursday’s plea agreement. While it had not been released to the general public, anyone who made a request was allowed to watch the video through the Norman Police Department.