A bill that would create procedures for Alabamians or their relatives to review law enforcement agencies’ body and dash camera footage received its first supportive vote last week.
House Bill 289, sponsored by Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, grants people whose image or voice is on a law enforcement recording the right to request access to the footage. If that person is deceased, a family member could request to see it. The bill says law enforcement does not have to distribute copies of the videos and media and general public aren’t included in the list of those who might have viewing access.
“This is a common sense approach to what we’re seeing throughout this country these last few years,” Givan said during a House Homeland Security and Public Safety meeting about police-involved shootings recorded by officers. “We may not be that state right now, but we want to make sure that family members have at least the bare-bones information.”
Multiple media outlets in recent years have fought with law enforcement for the release of police videos.
“In this day and time it’s going to be hard to keep anything from the media, that’s No 1,” Givan told Alabama Daily News. “And most of the time so much of the footage has already been drawn down from regular social media platforms because someone may have captured something. Again, it’s a first step and covers the personal representative and individual.”
President of the Alabama Broadcasters Association Sharon Tinsley told Alabama Daily News that the organization was pleased to see an effort to improve open access to government records; however, she would like to see the legislation include the media or some ability of the media to have access to the footage.
“The media and in this case, we’re talking about radio, television, newspapers, serve as an important watchdog role in our society,” Tinsley said. “Having access to this kind of video just furthers their ability to provide information about what your law enforcement is doing.”
The request for disclosure must be made in written form. However, the bill allows law enforcement not to release the footage if it could harm an ongoing investigation.
Givan told the committee that releasing body cam video to families can offer them answers and calm the public.
“Just as we saw in the city of Memphis a few months ago, the family had already been working with law enforcement to try and get some answers and find a resolution (when the footage was released to the public),” Givan said about the police beating of Tyre Nichols, who later died. “Sometimes, just being able to release a little bit of information (makes a difference).”
Two amendments were adopted during the committee meeting as recommended from the Attorney General’s Office and the Alabama District Attorneys Association. These amendments clarified that the bill did not apply to the exchange of recordings between law enforcement or prosecuting agencies and allows for a law enforcement agency to charge a reasonable fee for the editing of a recording.
The bill has 20 Democrat co-sponsors. Givan sponsored a similar bill in 2019. That bill never made it out of committee.