State Sen. Brian Kelsey Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

21 Apr, 2017

Senate approves bill to open TBI records in police-involved shootings

By Deborah Fisher|2017-04-21T10:05:16-05:00April 21, 2017|Categories: crime records|Tags: police shootings, State Sen. Brian Kelsey, State Sen. Lee Harris, TBI|1 Comment

The Senate this week voted 30-0 to make TBI investigative records in police-involved shootings open to the public after the "prosecutorial function" is finished. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has an exemption in the Tennessee Public Records Act that allows it keep its records confidential even after the case is over, but this legislation would create an exception for police-involved shootings. “This is extremely important legislation for Tennessee," said state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, who signed on to the bill as a co-sponsor and who carried similar legislation last year. (see video) "We need to make this information public to exonerate our law enforcement officers who are at times wrongfully accused [...]

12 Apr, 2016

Two bills on transparency of police shooting investigations advance in Legislature

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-09T08:23:45-06:00April 12, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: legislature, police shootings, State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, State Sen. Brian Kelsey, TBI|0 Comments

A Shelby County state senator and Memphis state representative have both gained passage in legislative committees of different amendments to bills that would govern access to TBI files in police shooting investigations. Both amendments carve out a pathway for the public to see elements of the investigation that led to a decision to clear law enforcement officers or charge them. Most police shootings where someone is killed in Tennessee do not result in charges against the officer. State Sen. Brian Kelsey An amendment to S.B 2023 by State Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, says: "After completion of an investigation by the Tennessee bureau of investigation into an officer-involved shooting [...]

5 Apr, 2016

Bill keeps TBI records about officer-involved shootings confidential unless police agree to release

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-21T16:59:17-05:00April 5, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: police body cameras, police shootings, State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, State Sen. Brian Kelsey, TBI|1 Comment

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article referenced language in the original Senate Bill 2023 and House Bill 2091 that required the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to handle investigations into all officer-involved shootings in the state. The amended bill that passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week does not appear to mandate TBI investigate all shootings, but when TBI does handle the investigation, it gives the district attorney and law enforcement agency discretion on whether to release public records regarding the investigation. A bill that passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week regarding TBI investigations into officer-involved shootings would keep public records of the investigation closed after the [...]

23 Oct, 2015

Bringing in TBI to investigate deadly force by police raises transparency question

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-09T08:21:39-06:00October 23, 2015|Categories: crime records|Tags: police shootings, State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, State Sen. Brian Kelsey, TBI|0 Comments

The Tennessean reports today that two of the state's major police departments - Knoxville and Nashville - are opposed to a proposal that would hand all investigations into local police killings to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. When someone is killed by a local law enforcement officer, the large police departments in the state historically have conducted their own investigations to determine if lethal force was justified, or if there was wrongdoing on the part of the officer. Under open records law in Tennessee, documents from a closed police investigation are accessible to the public, allowing transparency into the process. State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis Two Memphis lawmakers - [...]

19 Oct, 2015

Police, ACLU, open government advocates talk body cam footage

By Deborah Fisher|2015-10-20T08:44:57-05:00October 19, 2015|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: ACLU, David Rausch, police body cameras, State Sen. Brian Kelsey, State Sen. Sara Kyle|1 Comment

Representatives from police, the ACLU, the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, the Tennessee Press Association and one of the largest vendors of body cams offered thoughts today to the state Senate Judiciary Committee on the use of body cameras to record interactions between law enforcement and citizens. Several police departments are moving forward with plans to equip their officers with body cameras, raising issues of how the cameras will be used, how long video will be retained and what is releasable under the state's public records laws. See video: Hearing on body camera footage before the Tennessee State Senate Judiciary Committee (Body cameras start at 2:45) The Knox County Sheriff's Office, [...]