News

Police body-cam video would not be public record under NC bill

The News & Observer has reported on a bill proposing changes to the state’s treatment of boy and dash camera records.

House Bill 713, which passed 115-2 last week, would restrict public access to the cameras. Under the proposed law, proposed by Rep. John Faircloth, a law enforcement agency would have discretion to release recordings if they serve a public safety purpose. They would not be considered public records.

The article quotes SMVT’s Mike Tadych on his reaction to the bill:

Tadych said Faircloth’s bill presumes that all body-camera video is of criminal acts. “What if it is the officer directing traffic at the scene of an accident?” he asked. And the recording may be of something that the person interacting with officer wants released, he said.

If accountability is the reason to have body and dashboard cameras, Tadych said, then it makes sense that the video should be available to people other than the police, he said.

“The video is going to tell you more than anything else,” he said. “It’s going to waive a lot of the ‘he said, she said’ stuff.”

Read the entire article here.