DULUTH, Minn. — Citing the threat of a lawsuit, the city of Duluth has declined to publicly release body camera footage of an August incident in which a Duluth police officer shot a man inside a residence.

The city has been served with a “notice of claim” from an attorney representing Joseph Zontelli, the man who suffered nonfatal wounds when he was shot by a Duluth police officer.

While the state already has ruled that such video should be classified as public, City Attorney Gunnar Johnson cited a state statute that allows otherwise public data to be withheld in certain instances, such as pending legal actions.

“We have determined that it’s in the best interest of the city and our officer to classify (the video) under this statute,” Johnson said in an interview. “We want to make sure that when, and if, there’s a lawsuit, that we have the strongest defense possible for the city and the officer.”

Under Minnesota law, the video should still become public at some point — but with a lengthy statute of limitations and the possibility of prolonged civil litigation, Johnson said it could be years before that would happen.

The shooting was the first major incident to be captured by the department’s body-mounted cameras, which all patrol officers have been wearing since last summer.

It also came at a time when increased scrutiny has fallen on police use of force incidents nationwide, largely spearheaded by the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. That incident has increased calls for law enforcement agencies throughout the country to equip officers with body cameras, and the Obama administration has requested $263 million to pay for more than 50,000 body cameras nationwide.

While the cameras have been largely praised by officials and community leaders locally, they’ve raised questions of privacy.

The Zontelli incident happened inside a residence during what police described as a “mental health crisis.” Police said the 34-year-old man was wielding a knife when he was shot twice by officer Marc Johnson.

Zontelli had barricaded himself inside a garage enclosure and attempted suicide before the officers forcibly entered the room, authorities said. Johnson’s actions were later deemed justified by a prosecutor.

Joshua Newville, a Minneapolis attorney representing the Zontelli family, was relieved to hear that the city would not be publicly releasing the video.

“The Zontellis have had a difficult experience and their privacy should be respected to the fullest extent possible,” he said. “It is an interesting question in terms of balancing police accountability and potential intrusion into private lives. It’s a question that the public continues to wrestle with. But the Zontellis’ position is that there is no reason that video needs to be public, at least for the time being.”

Newville sent a one-page letter to the city in late August, declaring intent to file suit against numerous parties, including the Duluth Police Department and officer Johnson.

Newville told the News Tribune that his clients are still mulling their legal options and have not made a decision on whether to pursue a lawsuit.

But the threat of a lawsuit itself is enough to allow the city to withhold information and videos related to the shooting, attorneys said.

Mark Anfinson, a Twin Cities-based media attorney, said the city is within its rights to withhold the video under an exception to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

But the attorney, who works with numerous media outlets, said he has concerns about access to body camera video, and expects that agencies also could impose similar restrictions on any video that’s related to a criminal investigation.

“It may be that the laws need to be revised, since neither the civil or criminal investigative statutes were really intended to completely block access to video that does nothing more than factually record what happened,” Anfinson said.

The city had previously asked the state to place temporary restrictions on certain body camera videos, including recordings taken inside “private places” like homes, schools or hospitals, and in the investigation of crimes involving domestic assault, sexual assault, mental health crises or juvenile crimes.

Minnesota Department of Administration Commissioner Matt Massman rejected the request, saying there already were applicable data laws in place and telling city officials that the state Legislature would be the appropriate place to seek policy change.