BILL NUMBER: AB 66 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Weber
( Principal coauthor: Assembly Member
Bonta )
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Rodriguez )
DECEMBER 17, 2014
An act to amend add Section
830.105 of 830.16 to the Penal Code, relating
to peace officers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 66, as amended, Weber. Peace officers: body-worn cameras.
Existing law makes it a crime to intentionally record a
confidential communication without the consent of all parties to the
communication. Existing law exempts specified peace officers from
that provision if they are acting within the scope of their
authority.
This bill would establish impose specified
requirements if on a law
enforcement agency that requires its officers
a peace officer employed by the agency to
wear body-worn cameras. use a body-worn
camera. The bill would require officers
a peace officer to, among other things, activate the camera
when responding to calls for assistance and performing law
enforcement activities in the field, and would prohibit
deactivating the cameras camera during
encounters an encounter with a member
of the public until the conclusion of that encounter. The bill
would also require a peace officer to ensure that the body-worn
camera is fully functional, as provided, prior to going into the
field. The bill would prohibit officers
a peace officer from using a body-worn camera in a hospital
emergency room when it would violate the privacy expectations of
patients, a patient, during an
ambulance response to an accident or illness when victims
are the victim is not involved in criminal
activity, or when it would risk the safety of a
confidential informant or undercover peace officer, or
during a protest or demonstration. officer. The
bill would require officers a peace officer
to give notice of the camera and provide an opportunity for
persons to request that the camera be turned off when the subject of
the recording is a victim of rape, incest, domestic violence, and
other forms of domestic and sexual harm, or when an
a peace officer is at a private residence
without a warrant and in a nonemergency situation.
The bill would require officers a peace
officer to only use a body-worn cameras
camera issued and approved by the law
enforcement agency that employs them, the
officer, and would prohibit removing, dismantling, or tampering
with any components or parts of the a
body-worn cameras. camera. The bill
would prohibit a peace officers
officer from using a body-worn cameras
camera to record any personal conversation with
another member of the law enforcement agency without the consent of
that member. The bill would prohibit, among other things,
officers a peace officer from using a
body-worn cameras camera to record in
a place where a reasonable expectation of privacy exists. The bill
would require law enforcement agencies to retain videos for
a minimum of one year, unless specified conditions apply. The
authorize a peace officer to review his or her
body-worn camera video only after making his or her initial statement
and report in an administrative or criminal inquiry or investigation
. Except as provided, the bill would
specify specifically require that
requests a request for files
a file from a body-worn
cameras are to camera be processed in accordance
with the California Public Records Act.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares:
(a) Twenty-first century policing demands more transparency in
everyday interactions with the public. In light of a number of high
profile use of force incidents involving law enforcement, body-worn
cameras are seen as an important means toward achieving this goal.
(b) Several law enforcement agencies in California are already
implementing body-worn camera programs. Because of the potential of
this technology to document law enforcement interactions, we must be
cognizant in protecting citizen privacy and not violate civil
liberties.
(c) The development of statewide guidelines and
compilation of best practices will be necessary to ensure
the public's trust in law enforcement. The use of the portable video
recording system provides documentary evidence for criminal
investigations, internal or administrative investigations, and civil
litigation.
(d) The Legislature intends for officers to utilize body-worn
cameras in accordance with the provisions in this act to maximize the
effectiveness of the audio and video documentation to achieve
operational objectives and to ensure evidence integrity.
SEC. 2. Section 830.105 830.16 is
added to the Penal Code,immediately following Section 830.10
, to read:
830.105. 830.16. (a) If a
A law enforcement agency that
requires a body-worn camera to be worn used
by a peace officer that the agency employs, the agency
employs shall comply with the requirements of
this section.
(b) (1) A peace officer equipped with a body-worn camera shall
activate the camera when responding to calls for assistance and when
performing law enforcement activities in the field, including, but
not limited to, traffic or pedestrian stops, pursuits, arrests,
searches, seizures, interrogations, and any other investigative or
enforcement encounters in the field.
(2) Peace officers A peace officer
shall test ensure that a body-worn
cameras camera is fully functional,
including, but not limited to, ensuring that the camera can be turned
on and off and record video and audio, and that the camera is
properly charged, prior to going in to field
activities and ensure the unit is properly charged.
into the field. A peace officer shall not violate a person's
reasonable expectation of privacy when ensuring that a body-worn
camera is fully functional pursuan t to this paragraph.
(3) Peace officers A peace officer
wearing a body-worn camera shall position the camera on
their his or her chest, head, shoulder,
collar, or any area above the mid-torso of his or her
uniform to facilitate optimum recording field of view.
(c) (1) Both video and audio recording functions of a
body-worn cameras camera shall be
activated when an officer is responding to a call for service or at
the initiation of any other law enforcement or investigative
encounter between a police officer and a member of the public. During
encounters an encounter with a member
of the public, the officer shall notify the member of the public
that the body-worn camera is recording, and shall not deactivate the
body-worn camera shall not be deactivated
until the conclusion of the encounter.
(2) Officers An officer may stop
recording when an arrestee is secured inside a fixed place of
detention, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (g) of Section
859.5.
(3) The following shall apply during any interview of a suspect or
witness:
(A) Peace officers A peace officer
shall record any interview of a suspect or witness in its entirety,
unless subdivision (d) applies.
(B) When recording interviews of a suspect or witness,
peace officers a peace officer shall,
prior to the interview, record any notification of rights, including,
but not limited to, where applicable, inform the
suspect or witness of his or her rights under Miranda v.
Arizona (1966) 384 U.S. 436.
(d) (1) A peace officer shall not operate a body-worn camera under
the following circumstances:
(A) In a hospital emergency room, when it would violate the
expectation of privacy of patients. a
patient.
(B) During an ambulance response to an accident or illness where
victims are the victim is not involved
in any criminal activity.
(C) Situations where recording would risk the safety of a
confidential informant or undercover peace officer.
(D) During protests or demonstrations.
(2) Under the following circumstances, operation
Operation of a body-worn camera shall begin with
the officer providing on camera notice to persons
a person being recorded that a body-worn camera is
recording video, and provide the persons
person with the option to request that the body-worn camera be
turned off: off under the following
circumstances:
(A) When the subject of the recording is a victim of rape, incest,
domestic violence, and other forms of domestic or sexual harm.
(B) (i) When an officer is
at a private residence without a warrant and in a nonemergency
situation.
(ii)
(3) In the event of contradicting requests made by a
homeowner homeowner, occupant, or
renter, the contradicting requests shall be recorded on video and the
peace officer shall continue to operate and record the encounter.
(e) (1) Peace A peace officer shall
only use the body-worn camera systems issued and approved by the law
enforcement agency that employs him or her for official police
duties.
(2) Unauthorized use, duplication, or distribution of
body-worn camera files are prohibited. Peace officers
A peace officer shall not make copies of any
body-worn camera file for their his or her
personal use and are prohibited from using
or use a recording device such as a phone camera or
secondary video camera to record a body-worn camera
files. file.
(3) All recorded media, images, and audio from body-worn cameras
are property of their respective law enforcement agency, and shall
not be copied, released, or disseminated in any form or manner
outside the parameters of this section without the written consent of
the head of the agency, unless otherwise authorized by law.
(4) Peace officers
(3) A Peace officer shall not
remove, dismantle, or tamper with any hardware or software components
or parts of body worn-cameras. a body-worn
camera.
(5) Peace officers
(4) A peace officer shall not use
body-worn camera functions, when there is no investigatory
interaction with a member of the public, to record any personal
conversation of or with another agency member or employee without the
permission of the recorded member or employee.
(f) (1) Peace officers A peace officer
shall not use a body-worn cameras
camera to record non-work related activity or to record
in places where a reasonable expectation of privacy exists.
(2) A law enforcement agency or law enforcement officer shall not
allow a computerized facial recognition program or application to be
used with a body-worn camera or a recording made by a body-worn
camera unless the use has been authorized by a warrant issued by a
court.
(3) Nothing in this section shall This
section does not require a peace officer, in a public venue, to
cease recording an event, situation, or circumstance solely at the
demand of the a citizen.
(g) (1) Unless paragraph (2) or (3) applies, a law enforcement
agency shall retain video and audio recorded by a body-worn camera
for a minimum of one year, after which it will be erased, destroyed,
or recycled pursuant to Section 34090.6 of the Government Code.
(2) A law enforcement agency shall retain video and audio recorded
by a body-worn camera under this section for 3 years under any of
the following situations:
(A) The recording is of an incident involving the use of force by
a peace officer.
(B) The recording is of an incident that leads to the detention or
arrest of an individual.
(C) The recording is relevant to a formal or informal complaint
against a law enforcement officer or a law enforcement agency.
(3) If evidence that may be relevant to a criminal prosecution is
obtained from a recording made by a body-worn camera under this
section, the law enforcement agency shall retain the recording for
any time in addition to that specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), and
in the same manner as is required by law for other evidence that may
be relevant to a criminal prosecution.
(h)
(g) Each law enforcement agency
agency, subject to the requirements of this section, shall
conspicuously post its polices and procedures regarding body-worn
cameras on its Internet Web site.
(i)
(h) (1) Peace officers A
peace officer may only review
their his or her body-worn camera
video only after making their his
or her initial statement and report in an administrative or
criminal inquiry or investigation.
(2) When safe and practical, an on-scene supervisor may retrieve a
body-worn camera from an officer. The supervisor shall be
responsible for assuring ensuring that
the camera date data is uploaded into
the desired data processing and collection method.
(j)
(i) (1) Any request from within a law enforcement
agency for recordings from a body-worn camera from that agency shall
be completed by the system administrator with the approval of the
head of the agency.
(2) All other requests for recordings from a body-worn camera
shall be processed in accordance with the California Public
Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7
of Title 1 of the Government Code).