Bill Text: MS HB635 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Police Safety Act of 2017; create.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2017-01-31 - Died In Committee [HB635 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2017-HB635-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B; Revenue and Expenditure General Bills
By: Representative Hines
House Bill 635
AN ACT TO CREATE THE POLICE SAFETY ACT OF 2017; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DEFINITIONS; TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR THE USE OF BODY-WORN CAMERAS BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER; TO PROVIDE THAT BODY-WORN CAMERAS SHALL NOT BE USED TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION BASED ON FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS OR TO RECORD CERTAIN ACTIVITY; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN PROCEDURES RELATED TO THE RETENTION OF VIDEO AND AUDIO RECORDED BY A BODY-WORN CAMERA; TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN VIDEO FOOTAGE IS EXEMPT FROM THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR OFFICERS WHO FAIL TO ADHERE TO THE RETENTION REQUIREMENT OR INTENTIONALLY INTERFERE WITH A BODY-WORN CAMERA; TO PROVIDE THAT ALL RECORDED DATA IS UNDER THE EXCLUSIVE CONTROL OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY; TO REQUIRE ANNUAL TRAINING FOR OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO WEAR CAMERAS; TO SPECIFY WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE BODY-WORN CAMERA TRAINING; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and referred to as the "Police Safety Act of 2017."
SECTION 2. The following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Law enforcement officer" means the same as the term is defined in Section 45-6-3.
(b) "Body-worn camera" means a device that is worn by a law enforcement officer that electronically records audio and video of his or her activities.
(c) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity.
SECTION 3. The following are the procedures for use of body-worn cameras by a law enforcement officer:
(a) Only law enforcement officers with the authority to conduct searches and make arrests shall be permitted to wear a body-worn camera. Such body-worn cameras shall be worn in a location and manner that maximizes the camera's ability to capture video footage of the officer's activities.
(b) A law enforcement officer who is permitted to wear a body-worn camera under paragraph (a) of this section shall activate both the video and audio recording functions of the camera whenever the law enforcement officer is responding to a call for service or at the initiation of any other law enforcement or investigative encounter between a law enforcement officer and a member of the public. However, when an immediate threat to the officer's life or safety makes activating the camera impossible or dangerous, the officer shall activate the camera at the first reasonable opportunity to do so, subject to exceptions in paragraphs (d) and (f) of this section.
(c) The body-worn camera shall not be deactivated until the encounter has fully concluded and the law enforcement officer leaves the scene or the contact moves into an area exempted under paragraph (d) or (f) of this section.
(d) A law enforcement officer may temporarily stop recording under the following limited circumstances:
(i) Encounters or communications with other law enforcement personnel, unless recording is permitted by a court order or is authorized as part of an administrative or criminal investigation;
(ii) Encounters or communications with undercover officers or confidential informants;
(iii) Strip searches;
(iv) When on break or otherwise engaged in personal activities; or
(v) In any location an officer has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a restroom or locker room.
(e) A law enforcement officer permitted to wear a body-worn camera under paragraph (a) of this section shall notify individuals that they are being recorded by a body-worn camera as close to the inception of the encounter as is reasonably possible.
(f) Prior to entering a private residence without a warrant or in nonexigent circumstances, a law enforcement officer shall ask the occupant if the occupant wants the officer to discontinue use of the officer's body-worn camera. If the occupant responds affirmatively, the law enforcement officer shall immediately discontinue use of the body-worn camera.
(g) All law enforcement offers to discontinue the use of a body-worn camera made pursuant to paragraphs (d) and (f) of this section, and the responses thereto, shall be recorded by the body-worn camera prior to discontinuing use of the body-worn camera.
(h) Body-worn cameras shall not be used surreptitiously.
(i) Law enforcement officers shall not activate a body-worn camera while on the grounds of any public, private, or parochial elementary or secondary school, except when responding to an imminent threat to life or health.
(j) All recorded files shall be securely downloaded by the officer operating the body-worn camera, no later than the end of each shift. In circumstances resulting in a person's bodily harm or death, the operating officer's supervisor shall immediately take custody of the camera and assume responsibility for downloading the data. Each file shall contain information related to the type of incident, the date, the body-worn camera identifier and the assigned officer.
(k) Body-worn camera recordings are not a replacement for written reports. Officers may not view a body-worn camera recording of an incident prior to writing a relevant report.
(l) Neither officers nor civilians are permitted to view recordings at the scene.
SECTION 4. Body-worn cameras shall not be used to gather intelligence information based on the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protected speech, associations or religion, or to record activity that is unrelated to a response for service of law enforcement or investigative encounter between a law enforcement officer and a member of the public.
SECTION 5. (1) A law enforcement agency shall retain video and audio recorded by a body-worn camera under this act for six (6) months from the date it was recorded, after which time such footage shall be permanently deleted unless subsection (2) or (3) of this section applies.
(2) A law enforcement agency shall automatically retain video and audio recorded by a body-worn camera under this act for no less than three (3) years if any of the following apply:
(a) The recording is of any incident involving the use of force;
(b) The recording is of an incident or event that leads to the detention or arrest of an individual; and/or
(c) The recording is of an encounter which is the subject of a formal or informal complaint.
(3) Body-camera video footage shall also be retained for no less than three (3) years if a longer retention period is voluntarily requested by:
(a) The law enforcement officer whose body-worn camera recorded the video footage, if that officer reasonably asserts that the video footage has evidentiary or exculpatory value;
(b) Any law enforcement officer who is a subject of the video footage, if that officer reasonably asserts the video footage has evidentiary or exculpatory value;
(c) Any superior officer of a law enforcement officer whose body-worn camera recorded the video footage or who is a subject of the video footage, if that superior officer reasonably asserts the video footage has evidentiary or exculpatory value;
(d) Any law enforcement officer, if the video footage is being retained solely and exclusively for police training purposes;
(e) Any member of the public who is a subject of the video footage;
(f) Any parent or legal guardian of a minor who is a subject of the video footage; or
(g) A deceased subject's next of kin or legally authorized representative.
(4) To effectuate paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) of subsection (3) of this section, any member of the public who is a subject of video footage, the parent or legal guardian of a minor who is a subject of the video footage or a deceased subject's next of kin or legally authorized representative, shall be permitted to review that specific video footage in order to make a determination as to whether they will voluntarily request it be subject to a three (3) year retention period.
SECTION 6. (l) The following video footage shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 as set forth under Chapter 61, Title 25, Mississippi Code of 1972:
(a) Video footage not subject to a minimum three (3) year retention period under subsection (2) of Section 5 of this act;
(b) Video footage that is subject to a minimum three (3) year retention period under subsection (3) of Section 5 of this act, where the subject of the video footage making the complaint requests the video footage not be made available to the public;
(c) Video footage that is subject to a minimum three (3) year retention period solely and exclusively under subsection (3)(a), (b), (c) or (d) of Section 5 of this act; and
(d) Video footage that is subject to a minimum three (3) year retention period solely and exclusively under subsection (3)(e), (f) or (g) of Section 5 of this act, where the person making the voluntary request requests the video footage not be made available to the public.
SECTION 7. (1) Should any law enforcement officer, employee or agent fail to adhere to the recording or retention requirements contained in this act, or intentionally interfere with a body-worn camera's ability to accurately capture video footage:
(a) Appropriate disciplinary action shall be taken against the individual officer, employee or agent;
(b) A rebuttable evidentiary presumption shall be adopted in favor of criminal defendants who reasonably assert that exculpatory evidence was destroyed or not captured; and
(c) A rebuttable evidentiary presumption shall be adopted on behalf of civil plaintiffs suing the government, a law enforcement agency and/or law enforcement officers for damages based on police misconduct who reasonably assert that evidence supporting their claim was destroyed or not captured.
SECTION 8. A law enforcement agency shall post on the law enforcement agency's public website its policies relating to the retention of recordings made by body-worn cameras under this act, procedures for requesting retention of a recording, and procedures for requesting copies of a recording.
SECTION 9. (1) All data, images, video and metadata captured, recorded, or otherwise produced by the equipment shall be under the exclusive control of the law enforcement agency.
(2) Officers shall not edit, alter, erase, duplicate, copy, share or otherwise distribute body-worn camera recordings in any manner without the approval of the sheriff or chief, or his or her designee.
(3) All access to body-worn camera files is to be audited to ensure that only authorized users are accessing the data for legitimate and authorized purposes. The agency shall keep records of who has accessed recorded data, when and for what purpose.
SECTION 10. (1) Annual training is required for officers assigned to wear cameras, supervisors whose officers wear cameras, records/evidence management personnel, training personnel, and Internal Affairs officers. Personnel must receive all mandated training prior to involvement with any body-worn camera authorized by this act.
(2) The training shall include: practices and protocols covered by this act; an overview of relevant state laws governing consent, evidence, privacy, and public disclosure; procedures for operating the equipment safely and effectively; scenario-based exercises that replicate situations an officer might encounter in the field; procedures for downloading and tagging recorded data; procedures for accessing and reviewing recorded data (only for personnel authorized to access the data); procedures for preparing and presenting digital evidence for court; and procedures for documenting and reporting any malfunctioning device or supporting system.
SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.
