Senate File 32, a bill regarding amendments to current peace officer recording laws, has passed its third Senate reading and will move on to the House.
The bill would prohibit footage from police body cameras to be made public unless released by a judge, with the exception of police harm or in a case of public interest.
In cases of officer harm or public interest it will be left up to the police department to decide if they want to release the footage.
“Having some guidelines is better than having none,” Jim Angell, the executive director of the Wyoming Press Association, said.
The bill would be an amendment platform between the court, police department and the
Wyoming press. There was concern for privacy with body camera recordings due to personal nature of the subject matter they record. With this bill, most of the footage will be kept confidential. This means the courts will be able to disclose sensitive material and protect citizens while the press and public can still have access to necessary information.
However, in cases that involve an incident of deadly force or serious bodily injury the release of the footage will be left up to the police department without the need to go through a judge. This will also be the case for situations that involve concern for public safety where the department may choose to make footage public in order to detain someone more quickly.
“Our department believes it’s a very positive move,” Gwen Smith, Laramie police/community services Lieutenant, said. “It provides privacy for citizens and also allows transparency for the public so it is positive on both sides.”
Smith said Wyoming police officers are directed to wear their body cameras whenever they’re on duty but only to turn them on when in a situation of enforcement contact. This includes traffic stops, when officers turn on their flashing lights or when they are in pursuit.
“Cameras are a very good tool for accountability,” Angell said.
When police officers fail to turn on their cameras or if the camera dies they must document the reason for the lack of footage. Wyoming police vehicles do not have dash cameras so officers rely solely on the footage from their body cameras.
“Before this bill there has been no real guiding direction from legislature,” Smith said..
Angell said he believes that the bill will pass the House of Representatives considering its success so far, with the last reading in the Senate ending in a vote of 25-5.
“I like it pretty well right now, I could like it better but I like it pretty well,” said Angell. “This is a good starting point.”
