SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on California legislation on police body camera video (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
California lawmakers are advancing a proposal requiring that body camera video generally be released after fatal police shootings and other significant incidents.
Supporters told the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday that making the recordings public will help with public oversight of police agencies. More than a dozen law enforcement organizations are opposed.
Assembly Bill 748 would establish a statewide policy on when recordings should be released. It amends the state’s public records law to limit the discretion police departments have for withholding the video. It was advanced to other committees on a party-line 7-2 vote.
Opponents say it should be left to local police departments to determine when, if ever, video footage should be released.
The bill feeds a national debate about police transparency.
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4:55 p.m.
Supporters of a proposal to make police body camera video more accessible to the public say video recordings can’t help with public oversight if they are kept secret.
The Senate Public Safety Committee took testimony Tuesday on a bill that would require body camera video generally be released after fatal police shootings and other significant incidents. More than a dozen law enforcement organizations are opposed.
Assembly Bill 748 would establish a statewide policy on when recordings should be released. It amends the state’s public records law to limit the discretion police departments have for withholding the video.
Opponents say it should be left to local police departments to determine when, if ever, video footage should be released.
Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting, the sponsor, says California currently has a patchwork of rules.
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2:26 a.m.
A longstanding national debate about police transparency and privacy has been reignited with a proposal in California that would require body camera video to be released after fatal police shootings and other significant incidents.
The state Senate’s Public Safety Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday in Sacramento on Assembly Bill 748.
The bill seeks to establish a statewide policy on when body camera should be released. It amends the state’s public records law to limit the discretion police departments have for withholding recordings.
Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting says he introduced the bill because he believes there’s a patchwork system on when the public can review body camera video.
More than a dozen law enforcement organizations oppose the measure.
They say it should be up to local police departments to determine when, if ever, body camera footage should be released.
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