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 | |
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Introduced By: Representative Christopher T. Millea | |
Date Introduced: August 27, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Title 12 of the General Laws entitled "CRIMINAL PROCEDURE" is hereby |
2 | amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
3 | CHAPTER 33 |
4 | POLICE WORN BODY CAMERAS |
5 | 12-33-1. Definitions. |
6 | As used in this chapter: |
7 | (1) "Body camera" means a device, worn by a peace officer, as defined in ยง 12-7-21, that |
8 | can make both audio and video recordings of an interaction between an officer and a civilian, any |
9 | member of the public, or other peace officer. |
10 | (2) "Civilian" or "member of the public" means any person who is not an on-duty peace |
11 | officer. |
12 | (3) "Department" means any municipal police department, the Rhode Island state police, |
13 | division of sheriffs, the capitol police or any other law enforcement agency with arrest powers who |
14 | has been certified through the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST). |
15 | (4) "Officer" means any sworn member of a department as defined in this chapter. |
16 | (5) "Subject" means any individual who appears on video footage recorded by a body |
17 | camera, except those who appear only incidentally. |
18 | 12-33-2. Use protocols. |
19 | (a) All departments shall acquire body cameras for use by any officer in its employ. |
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1 | (b) A chain-of-custody of all body camera recordings shall be maintained by the |
2 | department. |
3 | (c) Any officer with the authority to conduct car stops, conduct searches, make arrests or |
4 | otherwise interact with any civilian or member of the public shall be required to wear body cameras |
5 | while on duty; provided, however, that any officer engaged in under-cover police work shall not be |
6 | required to wear a body camera. |
7 | (d) Body cameras shall be worn openly in a prominent location on the officer's body, |
8 | uniform, or clothing, and in a manner which maximizes the camera's ability to capture video footage |
9 | of the officer's activities. |
10 | (e) Before and after each shift, officers shall inspect and test their body cameras to verify |
11 | that they are working properly and are fully charged, shall, whenever practicable, notify their |
12 | supervisor of any problems prior to interaction with the public and shall immediately replace the |
13 | malfunctioning body camera with one that is in working order. |
14 | (f) The body camera shall be activated whenever an officer is effectuating a traffic stop, |
15 | responding to a call for service or at the initiation of any other law enforcement or investigative |
16 | encounter between an officer and a member of the public, or assisting any other officer during such |
17 | activity, except that when an immediate threat to the officer's safety make activating the camera |
18 | impossible or dangerous, the officer shall activate the camera at the first reasonable opportunity to |
19 | do so. The body camera shall not be deactivated until the encounter has fully concluded and the |
20 | officer leaves the scene; provided, however, that the body camera shall remain activated during the |
21 | transport of any suspect or arrestee to the department. |
22 | (1) Officers unable to activate a body camera due to an immediate threat to their safety, |
23 | shall, as soon as practicable, file documentation with their supervising officer, detailing the threat |
24 | to their safety. |
25 | (g) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (f) of this section: |
26 | (1) Prior to entering a private residence without a warrant or in non-exigent circumstances, |
27 | an officer shall ask the occupant if they want the officer to discontinue use of the officer's body |
28 | camera. If the occupant responds affirmatively, the officer shall immediately discontinue use of the |
29 | body camera. In the event of conflicting responses, the officer shall not discontinue use of the body |
30 | camera; |
31 | (2) When interacting with an apparent crime victim, an officer shall, as soon as practicable, |
32 | ask the apparent crime victim if they want the officer to discontinue use of the officer's body |
33 | camera. If the apparent crime victim responds affirmatively, the officer shall immediately |
34 | discontinue use of the body camera; and |
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1 | (3) When interacting with a person seeking to anonymously report a crime or assist in an |
2 | ongoing law enforcement investigation, an officer shall immediately ask the person seeking to |
3 | remain anonymous if they want the officer to discontinue the use of the officer's body camera. If |
4 | the person seeking to remain anonymous responds affirmatively, the officer shall immediately |
5 | discontinue use of the body camera. |
6 | (h) All offers of law enforcement to discontinue the use of a body camera shall be recorded |
7 | by the body camera before discontinuing its use. |
8 | 12-33-3. Uses and prohibited uses of body cameras. |
9 | (a) Body cameras shall not be deactivated during raids or other planned enforcement |
10 | actions. |
11 | (b) Body cameras shall not be used to gather information from activities that are based in |
12 | whole or in part on First Amendment protected speech associations or religion, to record activity |
13 | that is unrelated to a response to a call for service or a law enforcement purpose or an investigative |
14 | encounter between an officer and a member of the public. |
15 | (c) Officers shall not activate body cameras while on the grounds of any public, private, |
16 | charter or parochial elementary or secondary school, except when responding to an imminent threat |
17 | to life or health. |
18 | (d) Recordings shall be used for evidentiary documentation or training purposes only. Only |
19 | those officers acting in an official capacity and in within their official duties shall be permitted |
20 | access to recordings generated by body cameras. |
21 | (e) Any on-scene images or recordings and/or any other images or recordings taken by |
22 | officers in the course and scope of their duties shall be downloaded, in an un-redacted version, to |
23 | the department's computer system or data-base as soon as feasible and deleted from the officer's |
24 | device following confirmation by the officer's supervisor that the entirety of any recording(s) have |
25 | been preserved for evidentiary use. |
26 | (f) No images or recordings from an officer's body camera shall be used, printed, copied, |
27 | scanned, e-mailed, posted on any website, shared, reproduced or distributed to any third party or in |
28 | any manner, unless for official law enforcement purposes. |
29 | 12-33-4. Data retention and access. |
30 | (a) Body camera footage shall be retained by the law enforcement agency for six (6) months |
31 | from the date it was recorded; thereafter, the footage may be permanently deleted, provided; |
32 | however, that body camera footage shall be retained as long as any footage is the subject of any |
33 | legal proceedings remain pending against any subject or officer involved in the event captured on |
34 | the recording. |
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1 | (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, body camera recordings shall be retained |
2 | for no less than three (3) years if the recording captures: |
3 | (1) Any use of force; |
4 | (2) Events leading up to and including an arrest for a felony offense, or events that |
5 | constitute a felony offense; or |
6 | (3) An encounter in which a complaint has been registered by a subject of the video footage. |
7 | (c) Body camera footage shall be retained longer than three (3) years if retention is |
8 | requested by: |
9 | (1) Any officer whose body camera created the recording, if the officer reasonably asserts |
10 | that the recording has evidentiary or exculpatory value; |
11 | (2) Any officer who is a subject of the recording, if the officer reasonably asserts that the |
12 | recording has evidentiary or exculpatory value; |
13 | (3) Any superior officer of an officer whose body camera made the recording or who is the |
14 | subject of the recording, if that superior officer reasonably asserts that the recording has evidentiary |
15 | or exculpatory value; |
16 | (4) For training purposes, provided that such footage is redacted to obscure the identity of |
17 | any civilian appearing therein; |
18 | (5) Any member of the public who is a subject of the recording; |
19 | (6) Any parent or legal guardian of a minor who is a subject of the recording; or |
20 | (7) A deceased subject's next of kin or legally authorized designee. |
21 | (d) No body camera image or recording shall be retained longer than necessary for use in |
22 | any legal proceeding or internal affairs investigation in which the recording may be entered as |
23 | evidence. |
24 | (e) Any officer, civilian, or member of the public, or their legal guardian in the case of a |
25 | minor or a deceased subject, that is captured on body camera footage, shall be permitted to review |
26 | the specific recording(s) in which they appear in order to make a determination as to whether they |
27 | will voluntarily request the recording(s) be subject to a three (3) year retention period, and shall be |
28 | entitled to a copy of the recording(s) upon request. One copy shall be provided to the person |
29 | requesting recording(s) at no charge. |
30 | (f) No officer shall review or receive an accounting of a body camera recording before |
31 | completing any required reports, statements or interviews regarding the recorded event. After any |
32 | reports, statements or interviews are completed, a supervisor may review recordings when |
33 | necessary to evaluate the merits of a complaint by a subject of the recording or a specific allegation |
34 | of misconduct, or to verify that the appropriate recording is being preserved pursuant to subsection |
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1 | (b) of this section. |
2 | (g) Body camera recordings shall be subject to public inspection pursuant to chapter 2 of |
3 | title 38, provided that recordings made public pursuant to a public records request or for another |
4 | legitimate law enforcement purpose shall be redacted to obscure the identities of minor children, |
5 | and to obscure the identities of other individuals when the release of the recording would |
6 | unreasonably, substantially, or seriously interfere with the individual's privacy, except that un- |
7 | redacted recordings may be released with the written consent of the subject(s) of the recording or |
8 | any person, or the legal guardian of any person captured on the recording. If more than one person |
9 | is captured on the recording, all those captured must consent to an un-redacted version being |
10 | released. |
11 | (h) Recordings preserved pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be public records |
12 | and not subject to redaction. |
13 | (i) Body camera recordings shall not otherwise be divulged or used by law enforcement |
14 | agencies for any commercial or other non-law enforcement purposes. |
15 | (j) Where law enforcement agencies authorize a third party to act as designated agent in |
16 | maintaining or retaining recordings, the agent shall not be permitted to independently access, view, |
17 | alter, or redact any video footage, except to delete recordings consistent with this chapter. |
18 | 12-33-5. Enforcement. |
19 | (a) Should any law enforcement officer, employee, or agent fail to adhere to the recording |
20 | or retention requirements contained in this chapter, or interfere with a body camera's ability to |
21 | accurately record: |
22 | (1) Appropriate disciplinary action shall be taken against the officer, employee or agent; |
23 | and |
24 | (2) There shall be a rebuttable evidentiary presumption in favor of any criminal defendant |
25 | or civil plaintiff who reasonably asserts that, due to the non-compliance or interference, body |
26 | camera recordings favorable to that defendant or plaintiff were destroyed or not captured. |
27 | (b) Body camera recordings made in contravention of this chapter shall be immediately |
28 | destroyed and shall not otherwise be admissible in any criminal, civil or administrative proceedings |
29 | against any person. |
30 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC005564 | |
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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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1 | This act would require all peace officers with arrest powers in the state of Rhode Island to |
2 | wear and activate body cameras during any car stop, search, arrest or during any interaction with |
3 | any civilian or member of the public. Provided, however, that any officer engaged in under-cover |
4 | police work shall not be required to wear a body camera. This act would also establish protocols |
5 | for retention and destruction of body camera footage and establish penalties for failure to comply |
6 | with this chapter. |
7 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC005564 | |
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