GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2017

H D

HOUSE BILL DRH10268-MS-133 (03/23)

Short Title: Changes to Current BWC Law.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representative Faircloth.
Referred to:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to amend the body‑worn camera legislation to clarify the definition of a deceased person and to provide for disclosure to citizen review boards.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. G.S. 132‑1.4A reads as rewritten:

"§ 132‑1.4A. Law enforcement agency recordings.

(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:

(1) Body‑worn camera. – An operational video or digital camera or other electronic device, including a microphone or other mechanism for allowing audio capture, affixed to the uniform or person of law enforcement agency personnel and positioned in a way that allows the camera or device to capture interactions the law enforcement agency personnel has with others.

(2) Custodial law enforcement agency. – The law enforcement agency that owns or leases or whose personnel operates the equipment that created the recording at the time the recording was made.

(3) Dashboard camera. – A device or system installed or used in a law enforcement agency vehicle that electronically records images or audio depicting interaction with others by law enforcement agency personnel. This term does not include body‑worn cameras.

(4) Disclose or disclosure. – To make a recording available for viewing or listening to by the person requesting disclosure, at a time and location chosen by the custodial law enforcement agency. This term does not include the release of a recording.

(5) Personal representative. – A parent, court‑appointed guardian, spouse, or attorney of a person whose image or voice is in the recording. If a person whose image or voice is in the recording is deceased, the term also means the personal representative of the estate of the deceased person; the deceased person's surviving spouse, parent, or adult child; the deceased person's attorney; or the parent or guardian of a surviving minor child of the deceased. Deceased person is defined as a person whose image or voice is captured in a recording and was living at the time the recording began and died during or subsequent to the event captured on the recording.

(6) Recording. – A visual, audio, or visual and audio recording captured by a body‑worn camera, a dashboard camera, or any other video or audio recording device operated by or on behalf of a law enforcement agency or law enforcement agency personnel when carrying out law enforcement responsibilities. This term does not include any video or audio recordings of interviews regarding agency internal investigations or interviews or interrogations of suspects or witnesses.

(7) Release. – To provide a copy of a recording.

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(e) Appeal of Disclosure Denial. – If a law enforcement agency denies disclosure pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, or has failed to provide disclosure more than ~~three~~five business days after the request for disclosure, the person seeking disclosure may apply to the superior court in any county where any portion of the recording was made for a review of the denial of disclosure. The court may conduct an in‑camera review of the recording. The court may order the disclosure of the recording only if the court finds that the law enforcement agency abused its discretion in denying the request for disclosure. The court may only order disclosure of those portions of the recording that are relevant to the person's request. A person who receives disclosure pursuant to this subsection shall not record or copy the recording. An order issued pursuant to this subsection may not order the release of the recording.

In any proceeding pursuant to this subsection, the following persons shall be notified and those persons, or their designated representative, shall be given an opportunity to be heard at any proceeding: (i) the head of the custodial law enforcement agency, (ii) any law enforcement agency personnel whose image or voice is in the recording and the head of that person's employing law enforcement agency, and (iii) the District Attorney. Actions brought pursuant to this subsection shall be set down for hearing as soon as practicable, and subsequent proceedings in such actions shall be accorded priority by the trial and appellate courts.

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(h) Release of Recordings; Law Enforcement Purposes. – Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (c), (f), and (g) of this section, a custodial law enforcement agency shall disclose or release a recording to a district attorney (i) for review of potential criminal charges, (ii) in order to comply with discovery requirements in a criminal prosecution, (iii) for use in criminal proceedings in district court, or (iv) any other law enforcement purpose, and may disclose or release a recording for any of the following purposes:

(1) For law enforcement training purposes.

(2) Within the custodial law enforcement agency for any administrative, training, or law enforcement ~~purpose.~~purpose, which includes disclosing the recording to the city manager, city council, and any other city board or commission designated by city council to review police matters or complaints against the police offices such as a citizen police review board, provided that the city manager and all members of city council or the city board or commission reviewing the recording have executed, in advance of the disclosure, a confidential statement agreeing to maintain the confidentiality of the recording.

(3) To another law enforcement agency for law enforcement purposes.

(4) To any person, a limited number of still images, not to exceed 10 images, extracted from a recording for the purpose of identifying a potential criminal suspect. The still images shall depict only the face and/or identifying characteristics of the criminal suspect.

…."

SECTION 2. G.S. 143‑318.11(a) reads as rewritten:

"§ 143‑318.11. Closed sessions.

(a) Permitted Purposes. – It is the policy of this State that closed sessions shall be held only when required to permit a public body to act in the public interest as permitted in this section. A public body may hold a closed session and exclude the public only when a closed session is required:

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(10) To view a recording ~~released~~regulated pursuant to G.S. 132‑1.4A."

SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law.