2020 -- H 8128

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LC005564

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- POLICE WORN BODY CAMERAS

     

     Introduced By: Representative Christopher T. Millea

     Date Introduced: August 27, 2020

     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 hereby

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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.

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     As used in this chapter:

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     (1) "Body camera" means a device, worn by a peace officer, as defined in ยง 12-7-21, that

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can make both audio and video recordings of an interaction between an officer and a civilian, any

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member of the public, or other peace officer.

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

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officer.

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     (3) "Department" means any municipal police department, the Rhode Island state police,

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division of sheriffs, the capitol police or any other law enforcement agency with arrest powers who

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has been certified through the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST).

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     (4) "Officer" means any sworn member of a department as defined in this chapter.

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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.

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     (a) All departments shall acquire body cameras for use by any officer in its employ.

 

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     (b) A chain-of-custody of all body camera recordings shall be maintained by the

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department.

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     (c) Any officer with the authority to conduct car stops, conduct searches, make arrests or

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otherwise interact with any civilian or member of the public shall be required to wear body cameras

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while on duty; provided, however, that any officer engaged in under-cover police work shall not be

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required to wear a body camera.

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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 which maximizes the camera's ability to capture video footage

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of the officer's activities.

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

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

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supervisor of any problems prior to interaction with the public and shall immediately replace the

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malfunctioning body camera with one that is in working order.

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     (f) The body camera shall be activated whenever an officer is effectuating a traffic stop,

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responding to a call for service or at the initiation of any other law enforcement or investigative

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encounter between an officer and a member of the public, or assisting any other officer during such

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activity, except that when an immediate threat to the officer's safety make activating the camera

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

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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; provided, however, that the body camera shall remain activated during the

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transport of any suspect or arrestee to the department.

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     (1) Officers unable to activate a body camera due to an immediate threat to their safety,

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shall, as soon as practicable, file documentation with their supervising officer, detailing the threat

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to their safety.

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

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

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an officer shall ask the occupant if they want the officer to discontinue use of the officer's body

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camera. If the occupant responds affirmatively, the officer shall immediately discontinue use of the

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body camera. In the event of conflicting responses, the officer shall not discontinue use of the body

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camera;

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

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ask the apparent crime victim if they want the officer to discontinue use of the officer's body

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camera. If the apparent crime victim responds affirmatively, the officer shall immediately

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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, an officer shall immediately ask the person seeking to

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remain anonymous if they want the officer to discontinue the use of the officer's body camera. If

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the person seeking to remain anonymous responds affirmatively, the officer shall immediately

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discontinue use of the body camera.

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     (h) All offers of law enforcement to discontinue the use of a body camera shall be recorded

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by the body camera before discontinuing its use.

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     12-33-3. Uses and prohibited uses of body cameras.

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     (a) Body cameras shall not be deactivated during raids or other planned enforcement

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actions.

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     (b) Body cameras shall not be used to gather information from activities that are based in

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whole or in part on First Amendment protected speech associations or religion, to record activity

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that is unrelated to a response to a call for service or a law enforcement purpose or an investigative

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encounter between an officer and a member of the public.

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

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

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to life or health.

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

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those officers acting in an official capacity and in within their official duties shall be permitted

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access to recordings generated by body cameras.

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

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officers in the course and scope of their duties shall be downloaded, in an un-redacted version, to

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the department's computer system or data-base as soon as feasible and deleted from the officer's

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device following confirmation by the officer's supervisor that the entirety of any recording(s) have

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been preserved for evidentiary use.

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     (f) No images or recordings from an officer's body camera shall be used, printed, copied,

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scanned, e-mailed, posted on any website, shared, reproduced or distributed to any third party or in

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any manner, unless for official law enforcement purposes.

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     12-33-4. Data retention and access.

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     (a) Body camera footage shall be retained by the law enforcement agency for six (6) months

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from the date it was recorded; thereafter, the footage may be permanently deleted, provided;

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however, that body camera footage shall be retained as long as any footage is the subject of any

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legal proceedings remain pending against any subject or officer involved in the event captured on

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the recording.

 

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     (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, body camera recordings shall be retained

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for no less than three (3) years if the recording captures:

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     (1) Any use of force;

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

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constitute a felony offense; or

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     (3) An encounter in which a complaint has been registered by a subject of the video footage.

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     (c) Body camera footage shall be retained longer than three (3) years if retention is

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requested by:

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     (1) Any officer whose body camera created the recording, if the officer reasonably asserts

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that the recording has evidentiary or exculpatory value;

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

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recording has evidentiary or exculpatory value;

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

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

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or exculpatory value;

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     (4) For training purposes, provided that such footage is redacted to obscure the identity of

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any civilian appearing therein;

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

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

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

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     (d) No body camera image or recording shall be retained longer than necessary for use in

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

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evidence.

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     (e) Any officer, civilian, or member of the public, or their legal guardian in the case of a

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minor or a deceased subject, that is captured on body camera footage, shall be permitted to review

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the specific recording(s) in which they appear in order to make a determination as to whether they

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will voluntarily request the recording(s) be subject to a three (3) year retention period, and shall be

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entitled to a copy of the recording(s) upon request. One copy shall be provided to the person

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requesting recording(s) at no charge.

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     (f) No officer shall review or receive an accounting of a body camera recording before

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completing any required reports, statements or interviews regarding the recorded event. After any

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reports, statements or interviews are completed, a supervisor may review recordings when

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necessary to evaluate the merits of a complaint by a subject of the recording or a specific allegation

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of misconduct, or to verify that the appropriate recording is being preserved pursuant to subsection

 

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(b) of this section.

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     (g) 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 un-

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redacted recordings may be released with the written consent of the subject(s) of the recording or

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any person, or the legal guardian of any person captured on the recording. If more than one person

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is captured on the recording, all those captured must consent to an un-redacted version being

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released.

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     (h) 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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     (i) 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 purposes.

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

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

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alter, or redact any video footage, except to delete recordings consistent with this chapter.

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     12-33-5. Enforcement.

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     (a) Should any law enforcement officer, employee, or agent fail to adhere to the recording

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or retention requirements contained in this chapter, or interfere with a body camera's ability to

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accurately record:

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

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and

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     (2) There shall be a rebuttable evidentiary presumption in favor of any criminal defendant

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or civil plaintiff who reasonably asserts that, due to the non-compliance or interference, body

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camera recordings favorable to that defendant or plaintiff were destroyed or not captured.

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

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destroyed and shall not otherwise be admissible in any criminal, civil or administrative proceedings

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against any person.

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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 require all peace officers with arrest powers in the state of Rhode Island to

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wear and activate body cameras during any car stop, search, arrest or during any interaction with

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any civilian or member of the public. Provided, however, that any officer engaged in under-cover

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police work shall not be required to wear a body camera. This act would also establish protocols

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for retention and destruction of body camera footage and establish penalties for failure to comply

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with this chapter.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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