SF
32 Moves to House for Consideration with Support from the WY Association of
Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, Wyoming Press Association and the ACLU
Cheyenne,
Wyoming — With the goal of providing
clarity to law enforcement and the general public, legislation passed the
Wyoming Senate today to provide parameters and guidance on the handling of
police body camera footage.
“Ensuring Wyoming’s peace officers have the
resources they need to keep us safe while protecting both privacy rights and
the public interest has always been the goal of this legislation,” said Senator
Leland Christensen, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I applaud the Task
Force on Digital Information Privacy as well as the Senate Judiciary Committee
for their hard work and dedication to addressing this important matter. “
Senate File 32, Peace Officer Recordings,
passed 3rd reading in the Wyoming Senate today. Current Wyoming law
does not address how police body camera video should be handled. Many local law
enforcement officers said they were reluctant to use body cameras, not knowing
the rules surrounding usage of the footage.
The bill passed today will permit individuals
who are the subject of a recording to view the footage in response to a
complaint against law enforcement or if it involves an incident of deadly force
or serious bodily injury, assuming the custodian of the recording determines it
is in the interest of public safety and is not contrary to public interest.
Additionally, recordings would be released to law enforcement or public
agencies as required to conduct business or pursuant to a court order. The
bill, sponsored by the Senate Judiciary Committee, will now move to the House
of Representatives for consideration.
The legislation represents many months of
hearings, meetings, testimony and input from key stakeholder groups including
law enforcement and the media. The Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs
of Police, Wyoming Press Association, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
and the Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault
applauded passage of Senate File 32 today.
“I believe our collaborative solution will be
workable for law enforcement as we look to deploy body worn cameras in
Wyoming,” said Byron Oedekoven
with the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police. “Thank you to
the leadership in the Senate and all the stakeholders who worked on this
legislation.”
“This is a great example of a compromise
working. Everybody had different concerns. Ours had to do with public transparency.
All sides recognized those concerns, so we had some great constructive
discussions and figured out ways to address them,” said Jim Angell with the
Wyoming Press Association.
“Police-worn body cameras hold the potential
to enhance officer safety and to increase public accountability for law
enforcement. But they also present significant privacy concerns. We are
satisfied with the compromise reached on Senate File 32, and we look forward to
working with law enforcement agencies to enact policies which will encourage
agencies to adopt the use of body cameras and which can deepen communication
and trust between citizens and the agencies and officers working to protect
them,” said Sabrina King with the American Civil Liberties Union of Wyoming.
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