OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday signed a bill that seeks to keep police body-camera videos available to the public while limiting broad requests for the footage.
House Bill 2362 sets rules on what body-camera footage is presumed to be private under the Public Records Act, sets up a task force to examine best practices for their use and encourages police agencies that plan to use the cameras to adopt policies related to their use.
Under the new law, certain videos would be presumptively private, such as footage that shows a dead body, was recorded in a home or shows a minor. Such footage would be withheld unless the requester can demonstrate that the video is of legitimate public concern.
The bill would limit broad requests for copies of the videos by requiring that the requester provide the name of a person involved in the incident, the date, time and location of the incident or the case number.
The measure was among more than 80 bills Inslee was signing Friday.
Inslee also signed House Bill 2908, which creates a task force to study use of deadly force by law enforcement. The new law will bring together a host of organizations and state agencies to study existing deadly-force law and potential ways to reduce violent interactions between police and members of the public.
The task force would report findings and any recommended changes in law to the Legislature.
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