Body Camera Legislation
I wanted to share some information on two bills that passed out of the House last week, relating to policing and the use of body cameras. I voted in favor of both of them, and think it is important to increase public understanding of what these bills will accomplish if they are signed into law.
HB 2908 establishing the joint legislative task force on the use of deadly force in community policing.
HB 2908 establishes a task force that will look at the use of deadly force in community policing. The task force must renew current policies and practices, potential alternatives to use of lethal force available to law enforcement, and our state’s training programs related to use of deadly force.
Task force members must report to the Governor and the Legislature in December 2016. This bill passed unanimously out of the House of Representatives, and here is a link to the bill history for HB 2908. The bill report was prepared by non-partisan Office of Program Research staff and is a great resource for more detailed descriptions of the legislation.
EHB 2362 an act relating to video and/or sound recordings made by law enforcement or corrections officers.
This bill creates Public Records Act (PRA) provisions that will govern requests for recordings made by law enforcement officers who are wearing body cameras. In order to protect individual privacy, the legislation describes specific instances that may result in a release of these recordings.
The recordings are exempt from the PRA, since the privacy of the individual being filmed is important to protect. The legislation requires the 13 police departments already using body cameras to adopt written policies governing their use.
These policies must stipulate conditions under which cameras are either on or off; how officers should respond when an individual requests the camera be turned off; and the circumstances and security rules for handling and documenting data collected.
Multiple community organizations and stakeholders participated in the preparation of this legislation. I’ve included the link to the bill history for HB 2362. As I mentioned previously, the bill report is a great resource for more information.
Please feel free to contact my office if you have further questions or comments about this legislation.
Your voice in Olympia,
Gael