2017 -- H 5926

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LC002115

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - POLICE-WORN BODY CAMERAS

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Almeida, Walsh, Williams, Perez, and Maldonado

     Date Introduced: March 16, 2017

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 12 of the General Laws entitled "CRIMINAL PROCEDURE" is

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hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

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CHAPTER 33

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POLICE-WORN BODY CAMERAS

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     12-33-1. Definitions. – For the purposes of this chapter:

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     (1) "Body camera" means a device, worn by an officer, that can make both audio and

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video recordings of an interaction between an officer and a civilian.

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     (2) "Civilian" or "member of the public" means any person who is not an on-duty police

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officer.

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     (3) "Department" means any municipal police department and the Rhode Island State

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Police.

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     (4) "Officer" means any sworn member of a municipal police department or Rhode Island

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State Police.

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     (5) "Subject" means any individual who appears on video footage recorded by a body

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camera, except those who appear only incidentally.

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     12-33-2. Use protocols. – (a) Law enforcement agencies that acquire body cameras shall

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issue a press release advising the public that such equipment will be in use, and shall post notice

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on their website that such equipment will be in use.

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     (b) A chain-of-custody of any body camera audio and/or video recordings, hereafter

 

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referred to as "recording(s)," shall be maintained by any department that uses body cameras.

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     (c) Only law enforcement officers with the authority to conduct searches and make

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arrests shall be permitted to wear a body camera. Body camera use shall be limited to those on-

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duty officers who are uniformed or operating marked police vehicles, except for SWAT officers

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and others engaged in planned actions or uses of force.

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     (d) Body cameras shall be worn openly in a prominent location on the officer's body,

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uniform, or clothing, and in a manner that maximizes the camera's ability to capture video footage

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of the officer's activities. Whenever practicable, the officer's uniform shall include a notice, such

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as a pin or light, alerting the public to the camera's presence.

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     (e) Before each shift, officers shall inspect and test their body cameras to verify that they

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are working properly and are fully charged, and shall, whenever practicable, notify their

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supervisor of any problems prior to interactions with the public.

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     (f) Body cameras shall not be used surreptitiously.

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     (g) The video and audio recording functions of the body camera shall be activated

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whenever an officer is responding to a call for service or at the initiation of any other law

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enforcement or investigative encounter between an officer and a member of the public, except

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that when an immediate threat to the officer's life or safety makes activating the camera

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impossible or dangerous, the officer shall activate the camera at the first reasonable opportunity

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to do so. The body camera shall not be deactivated until the encounter has fully concluded and the

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officer leaves the scene.

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     (1) Officers unable to activate a body camera because of threat to the officer's life or

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safety shall, as soon as practicable, file documentation with their supervising officer as to the

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threat to life or safety.

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     (2) Additional arriving officers that are equipped with body cameras should activate their

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body cameras and begin recording the situation upon their arrival, until the enforcement member

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leaves the scene.

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     (h) As close to the inception of the encounter as reasonably possible, an officer who is

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wearing a body camera shall notify the subject or subjects of the recording that they are being

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recorded by a body camera.

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     (i) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (g) of this section:

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     (1) Prior to entering a private residence without a warrant or in non-exigent

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circumstances, an officer shall ask the occupant if the occupant wants the officer to discontinue

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use of the officer's body camera. If the occupant responds affirmatively, the law enforcement

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officer shall immediately discontinue use of the body camera. In the event of conflicting

 

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responses, the officer shall not discontinue use of the body camera;

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     (2) When interacting with an apparent crime victim, an officer shall, as soon as

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practicable, ask the apparent crime victim if the apparent crime victim wants the officer to

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discontinue use of the officer's body camera. If the apparent crime victim responds affirmatively,

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the law enforcement officer shall immediately discontinue use of the body camera; and

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     (3) When interacting with a person seeking to anonymously report a crime or assist in an

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ongoing law enforcement investigation, a law enforcement officer shall immediately ask the

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person seeking to remain anonymous if they want the officer to discontinue the use of the

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officer's body camera. If the person seeking to remain anonymous responds affirmatively, the

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officer shall immediately discontinue use of the body camera.

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     (j) All offers by law enforcement to discontinue the use of a body camera made pursuant

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to subsection (i) of this section, and the responses thereto, shall be recorded by the body camera

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before discontinuing its use.

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     12-33-3. Body camera prohibited uses. – (a) Body cameras shall not be deactivated

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during raids or other planned enforcement actions.

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     (b) Body cameras, as well as other devices that can record audio and video, shall not be

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used to gather information based in whole or in part on First Amendment-protected speech,

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associations, or religion, or to record activity that is unrelated to a response to a call for service or

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a law enforcement or investigative encounter between an officer and a member of the public. This

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shall not include audio and/or video surveillance cameras operated in law enforcement vehicles

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pursuant to §31- 21.2-5.

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     (c) Officers shall not activate a body camera while on the grounds of any public, private,

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charter, or parochial elementary of secondary school, except when responding to an imminent

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threat to life or health.

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     (d) Officers shall not use a personal electronic recording or imaging device while

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performing police duties.

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      (e) Recordings shall be used for evidentiary documentation or training purposes only.

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Only those officers acting under their official duties shall be permitted access to recordings.

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     (f) Any on-scene images/recordings and/or any other images/recordings taken by officers

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in the course and scope of their duties shall be downloaded as soon as feasible and deleted off the

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officer's device. This shall include recordings taken by body cameras as well as images taken

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intentionally or inadvertently with an officer's personally-owned camera, cell phone camera, or

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any other digital imaging device.

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     (g) No images or recordings taken by any officer in the course and scope of their duties

 

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may be used, printed, copied, scanned, e-mailed, posted, shared, reproduced or distributed in any

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manner, unless for official law enforcement purposes.

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     12-33-4. Data retention and access. – (a) Body camera footage shall be retained by the

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law enforcement agency for six (6) months from the date it was recorded; thereafter the footage

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shall be permanently deleted.

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     (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section:

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     (1) Body camera recordings shall be automatically retained for no less than three (3)

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years if the recording captures:

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     (i) Any use of force;

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     (ii) Events leading up to and including an arrest for a felony-level offense, or events that

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constitute a felony-level offense; or

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     (iii) An encounter about which a complaint has been registered by a subject of the video

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footage.

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     (2) Body camera recordings shall also be retained for no less than three (3) years if a

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longer retention period is requested by:

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     (i) The officer whose body camera created the recording, if that officer reasonably asserts

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that the recording has evidentiary or exculpatory value;

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     (ii) Any officer who is a subject of the recording, if that officer reasonably asserts that the

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recording has evidentiary or exculpatory value;

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     (iii) Any superior officer of an officer whose body camera made the recording or who is a

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subject of the recording, if that superior officer reasonably asserts that the recording has

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evidentiary or exculpatory value;

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     (iv) Any officer, if the recording is being retained solely and exclusively for police

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training purposes, provided that such footage shall be redacted to obscure the identity of any

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civilian appearing therein;

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     (v) Any member of the public who is a subject of the recording;

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     (vi) Any parent or legal guardian of a minor who is a subject of the recording; or

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     (vii) A deceased subject's next of kin or legally authorized designee.

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     (c) No body camera recording shall be maintained longer than necessary for use in any

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legal or civil proceeding or internal affairs investigation in which the recording may be entered as

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evidence.

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     (d) Any member of the public who is a subject of a body camera recording, the parent or

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legal guardian of a minor who is the subject of a body camera recording, or a deceased subject's

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next of kin or legally authorized designee, shall be permitted to review the specific recording in

 

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which the subject appears in order to make a determination as to whether they will voluntarily

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request it be subject to a three (3) year retention period, and shall be entitled to a copy of the

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recording upon request. There shall be no cost for a copy of the recording.

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     (e) No officer shall review or receive an accounting of any body camera recording before

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completing any required initial reports, statements, and interviews regarding the recorded event.

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After any required initial reports, statements, and interviews are completed, a supervisor may

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review recordings when necessary to evaluate the merits of a complaint by a subject of the

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recording or a specific allegation of misconduct, or to verify the appropriate recording is being

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preserved pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

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     (f) Body camera footage not preserved pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall not

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be reviewed.

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     (g) No body camera recording shall be subject, either in real time or after the recording is

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captured to any automated analysis or analysis of biometric indicators of any kind, including, but

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not limited to, iris or retina patterns or facial characteristics.

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     (h) Body camera recordings shall be subject to public inspection pursuant to chapter 2 of

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title 38 provided that recordings made public pursuant to a public records request or for another

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legitimate law enforcement purpose shall be redacted to obscure the identities of minor children,

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and to obscure the identities of other individuals when the release of the recording would

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unreasonably, substantially, or seriously interfere with the individual's privacy, except that

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unredacted recordings may be released with the written consent of the subject of the recording,

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the parent or legal guardian of a minor who is the subject of a recording, or a deceased subject's

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next of kin or legally authorized designee.

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     (i) Recordings preserved pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be public records

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and not subject to redaction.

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     (j) Body camera recordings shall not otherwise be divulged or used by law enforcement

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agencies for any commercial or other non-law enforcement purpose.

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     (k) Where law enforcement agencies authorize a third party to act as designated agent in

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maintaining recordings, the agent shall not be permitted to independently access, view, or alter

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any video footage, except to delete records as required by law.

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     12-33-5. Enforcement. – (a) Should any law enforcement officer, employee, or agent fail

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to adhere to the recording or retention requirements contained in this chapter, or interfere with a

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body camera's ability to accurately record:

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     (1) Appropriate disciplinary action shall be taken against the officer, employee or agent;

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     (2) The department shall support a rebuttable evidentiary presumption in favor of any

 

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criminal defendant or civil plaintiff who reasonably asserts that, due to the noncompliance or

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interference, body camera recordings favorable to that defendant or plaintiff was destroyed or not

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captured.

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     (b) Body camera recordings made in contravention of this chapter shall be immediately

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destroyed. The department and its officers shall not seek to introduce improperly-made

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recordings as evidence in any criminal or civil legal or administrative proceeding against a

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civilian.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - POLICE-WORN BODY CAMERAS

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     This act would mandate protocols for the use of police-worn body cameras by those law

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enforcement agencies which choose to require their use.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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