St. Paul, Minn. – Tonight, on a vote of 95-33 the Minnesota House passed SF 498, a bill to regulate the use of body cameras worn by law enforcement personnel and the classification of the data captured by them. Rep. Dan Schoen (DFL – St. Paul Park) issued the following statement afterward:
“With the increasing demand by both the public and law enforcement agencies, tonight’s bipartisan vote showed it was time to act on this issue so communities can invest in this equipment. This bill allows all communities to openly discuss policies and guidelines as to which use is the best fit for them for both officer accountability and safety.
“Not everyone is happy with this result, but this is what compromise is about. This issue had been strangled by the politics of gridlock, which grips our Capitol on so many issues today, and Minnesotans don’t deserve this. Some have claimed lack of a bill is better, but this wouldn’t help get us closer to the accountability many communities are asking for as many agencies simply won’t purchase these devices without a clear foundation of guidance from the Legislature.
“Law enforcement is a difficult job, but as a police officer I expect to be accountable to my community. Along with the other 99.99 percent of honorable officers working the street every day, I want to see the .01 percent who aren’t honorable dealt with and removed from our profession. Our officers deserve to have the protection body cameras offer them in the communities which want to utilize them.
“I encourage my fellow officers to lead and recognize the needs of the people we serve, and not get trapped by the ‘us against them’ attitude. I know it’s felt rough the past couple of years, but words and actions are studied and can easily be misconstrued as anger and lack of empathy. We have tactics on how to safely enter a building or approach a possibly dangerous person; let’s employ better tactics with our words in public to make sure the community has our backs and gives us more protection. A successful law enforcement agency only works when the community is involved and proactively engaged.”
Rep. Dan Schoen represents District 54A in the Minnesota House of Representatives, which includes the communities of Cottage Grove, St. Paul Park, South St. Paul, Newport, and Grey Cloud Island Township. He can be reached by phone at 651-296-4342 or email at rep.dan.schoen.@house.mn.