If the video footage from the Tyre Nichols beating in Memphis tells us anything, it’s that we need to keep protecting the tools that allow public accountability for corruption.
An exemption passed in 2017 makes certain video footage captured by law enforcement body cameras confidential. The exemption is set to expire this year. And instead of renewing the exemption, we need to review its obvious problems.
We are monitoring several bills during the 2022 legislative session, including a bill that would create new fees to inspect public records.
A recent report by investigative journalist Marc Perrusquia details the excessive redaction of body camera footage, obscuring information and leading to high labor costs and delays when journalists and members of the public want to view it. The report, "Inaccessible: Police Body Camera Footage Is Often Expensive, Heavily Edited And Takes Months To Get", was published by the Institute for Public Service Reporting in Memphis where Perrusquia is director. The report is especially relevant and timely because a law that allows redaction of certain parts of body camera footage is set to expire July 1, 2022. [...]
Proposed legislation by state Rep. Glen Casada and state Sen. Jack Johnson would make confidential police video of someone arrested or detained and not subject to the public records law. The bill also would close contact information of those arrested, including the home address and phone number. HB 910 is scheduled to heard by the House Public Service Subcommittee at its Wednesday meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. The bill would add an exemption to the public records act that says: (1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, personal identifying information compiled by and in the possession of municipal and county law enforcement agencies and detention facilities concerning any [...]
