ST. PAUL – A proposal that regulates the use and distribution of police body camera footage will soon be debated on the House floor.
State Representative Jason Rarick (R-Pine City) said the legislation is necessary in order to protect law enforcement from groundless lawsuits along with preserving personal privacy rights of those who come into contact with police officers.
“When this proposal first came out, there were many questions and concerns from people who were leery of the collection of body camera footage,” Rarick said. “Great ideas were brought forward and changes were made, and now we are moving closer to establishing legislation that protects your right to privacy while assisting our police officers.”
Some of the proposed regulations in the legislation include allowing the public to only see footage if it causes someone substantial bodily harm; giving police the power to redact portions of the video that offend “common sensibilities;” letting police review body camera video before officers file an incident report; and allowing anyone in a non-public video to release it to the public, but only after people who haven’t signed off on its release are blurred.
Rarick said he looks forward to supporting an idea that gives police, as well as the person or family involved in the interaction, access to body camera footage.
“We want to ensure that the media has a valid reason to obtain police video,” Rarick said. “We are also putting safeguards in place in order to protect citizens who are in a vulnerable situation, especially in their homes. The goal is to address concerns on both sides of this issue, which is difficult to do, but we are making solid progress.”