101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5389

 

Introduced , by Rep. Justin Slaughter

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
50 ILCS 706/10-20

    Amends the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. Provides that if the subject of the encounter captured on the recording made by the officer-worn body camera is not arrested or issued a summons as a result of the encounter, the law enforcement officer, during the encounter, must inform the subject of the encounter how he or she may obtain a copy of the recording. Effective immediately.


LRB101 17512 RLC 66923 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5389LRB101 17512 RLC 66923 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act
5is amended by changing Section 10-20 as follows:
 
6    (50 ILCS 706/10-20)
7    Sec. 10-20. Requirements.
8    (a) The Board shall develop basic guidelines for the use of
9officer-worn body cameras by law enforcement agencies. The
10guidelines developed by the Board shall be the basis for the
11written policy which must be adopted by each law enforcement
12agency which employs the use of officer-worn body cameras. The
13written policy adopted by the law enforcement agency must
14include, at a minimum, all of the following:
15        (1) Cameras must be equipped with pre-event recording,
16    capable of recording at least the 30 seconds prior to
17    camera activation, unless the officer-worn body camera was
18    purchased and acquired by the law enforcement agency prior
19    to July 1, 2015.
20        (2) Cameras must be capable of recording for a period
21    of 10 hours or more, unless the officer-worn body camera
22    was purchased and acquired by the law enforcement agency
23    prior to July 1, 2015.

 

 

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1        (3) Cameras must be turned on at all times when the
2    officer is in uniform and is responding to calls for
3    service or engaged in any law enforcement-related
4    encounter or activity, that occurs while the officer is on
5    duty.
6            (A) If exigent circumstances exist which prevent
7        the camera from being turned on, the camera must be
8        turned on as soon as practicable.
9            (B) Officer-worn body cameras may be turned off
10        when the officer is inside of a patrol car which is
11        equipped with a functioning in-car camera; however,
12        the officer must turn on the camera upon exiting the
13        patrol vehicle for law enforcement-related encounters.
14        (4) Cameras must be turned off when:
15            (A) the victim of a crime requests that the camera
16        be turned off, and unless impractical or impossible,
17        that request is made on the recording;
18            (B) a witness of a crime or a community member who
19        wishes to report a crime requests that the camera be
20        turned off, and unless impractical or impossible that
21        request is made on the recording; or
22            (C) the officer is interacting with a confidential
23        informant used by the law enforcement agency.
24        However, an officer may continue to record or resume
25    recording a victim or a witness, if exigent circumstances
26    exist, or if the officer has reasonable articulable

 

 

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1    suspicion that a victim or witness, or confidential
2    informant has committed or is in the process of committing
3    a crime. Under these circumstances, and unless impractical
4    or impossible, the officer must indicate on the recording
5    the reason for continuing to record despite the request of
6    the victim or witness.
7        (4.5) Cameras may be turned off when the officer is
8    engaged in community caretaking functions. However, the
9    camera must be turned on when the officer has reason to
10    believe that the person on whose behalf the officer is
11    performing a community caretaking function has committed
12    or is in the process of committing a crime. If exigent
13    circumstances exist which prevent the camera from being
14    turned on, the camera must be turned on as soon as
15    practicable.
16        (5) The officer must provide notice of recording to any
17    person if the person has a reasonable expectation of
18    privacy and proof of notice must be evident in the
19    recording. If exigent circumstances exist which prevent
20    the officer from providing notice, notice must be provided
21    as soon as practicable.
22        (6) For the purposes of redaction, labeling, or
23    duplicating recordings, access to camera recordings shall
24    be restricted to only those personnel responsible for those
25    purposes. The recording officer and his or her supervisor
26    may access and review recordings prior to completing

 

 

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1    incident reports or other documentation, provided that the
2    officer or his or her supervisor discloses that fact in the
3    report or documentation.
4        (7) Recordings made on officer-worn cameras must be
5    retained by the law enforcement agency or by the camera
6    vendor used by the agency, on a recording medium for a
7    period of 90 days.
8            (A) Under no circumstances shall any recording
9        made with an officer-worn body camera be altered,
10        erased, or destroyed prior to the expiration of the
11        90-day storage period.
12            (B) Following the 90-day storage period, any and
13        all recordings made with an officer-worn body camera
14        must be destroyed, unless any encounter captured on the
15        recording has been flagged. An encounter is deemed to
16        be flagged when:
17                (i) a formal or informal complaint has been
18            filed;
19                (ii) the officer discharged his or her firearm
20            or used force during the encounter;
21                (iii) death or great bodily harm occurred to
22            any person in the recording;
23                (iv) the encounter resulted in a detention or
24            an arrest, excluding traffic stops which resulted
25            in only a minor traffic offense or business
26            offense;

 

 

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1                (v) the officer is the subject of an internal
2            investigation or otherwise being investigated for
3            possible misconduct;
4                (vi) the supervisor of the officer,
5            prosecutor, defendant, or court determines that
6            the encounter has evidentiary value in a criminal
7            prosecution; or
8                (vii) the recording officer requests that the
9            video be flagged for official purposes related to
10            his or her official duties.
11            (C) Under no circumstances shall any recording
12        made with an officer-worn body camera relating to a
13        flagged encounter be altered or destroyed prior to 2
14        years after the recording was flagged. If the flagged
15        recording was used in a criminal, civil, or
16        administrative proceeding, the recording shall not be
17        destroyed except upon a final disposition and order
18        from the court.
19        (8) Following the 90-day storage period, recordings
20    may be retained if a supervisor at the law enforcement
21    agency designates the recording for training purposes. If
22    the recording is designated for training purposes, the
23    recordings may be viewed by officers, in the presence of a
24    supervisor or training instructor, for the purposes of
25    instruction, training, or ensuring compliance with agency
26    policies.

 

 

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1        (9) Recordings shall not be used to discipline law
2    enforcement officers unless:
3            (A) a formal or informal complaint of misconduct
4        has been made;
5            (B) a use of force incident has occurred;
6            (C) the encounter on the recording could result in
7        a formal investigation under the Uniform Peace
8        Officers' Disciplinary Act; or
9            (D) as corroboration of other evidence of
10        misconduct.
11        Nothing in this paragraph (9) shall be construed to
12    limit or prohibit a law enforcement officer from being
13    subject to an action that does not amount to discipline.
14        (10) The law enforcement agency shall ensure proper
15    care and maintenance of officer-worn body cameras. Upon
16    becoming aware, officers must as soon as practical document
17    and notify the appropriate supervisor of any technical
18    difficulties, failures, or problems with the officer-worn
19    body camera or associated equipment. Upon receiving
20    notice, the appropriate supervisor shall make every
21    reasonable effort to correct and repair any of the
22    officer-worn body camera equipment.
23        (11) No officer may hinder or prohibit any person, not
24    a law enforcement officer, from recording a law enforcement
25    officer in the performance of his or her duties in a public
26    place or when the officer has no reasonable expectation of

 

 

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1    privacy. The law enforcement agency's written policy shall
2    indicate the potential criminal penalties, as well as any
3    departmental discipline, which may result from unlawful
4    confiscation or destruction of the recording medium of a
5    person who is not a law enforcement officer. However, an
6    officer may take reasonable action to maintain safety and
7    control, secure crime scenes and accident sites, protect
8    the integrity and confidentiality of investigations, and
9    protect the public safety and order.
10    (b) Recordings made with the use of an officer-worn body
11camera are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of
12Information Act, except that:
13        (1) if the subject of the encounter has a reasonable
14    expectation of privacy, at the time of the recording, any
15    recording which is flagged, due to the filing of a
16    complaint, discharge of a firearm, use of force, arrest or
17    detention, or resulting death or bodily harm, shall be
18    disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act
19    if:
20            (A) the subject of the encounter captured on the
21        recording is a victim or witness; and
22            (B) the law enforcement agency obtains written
23        permission of the subject or the subject's legal
24        representative;
25        (2) except as provided in paragraph (1) of this
26    subsection (b), any recording which is flagged due to the

 

 

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1    filing of a complaint, discharge of a firearm, use of
2    force, arrest or detention, or resulting death or bodily
3    harm shall be disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of
4    Information Act; and
5        (3) upon request, the law enforcement agency shall
6    disclose, in accordance with the Freedom of Information
7    Act, the recording to the subject of the encounter captured
8    on the recording or to the subject's attorney, or the
9    officer or his or her legal representative; and
10        (4) if the subject of the encounter captured on the
11    recording is not arrested or issued a summons as a result
12    of the encounter, the law enforcement officer, during the
13    encounter, must inform the subject of the encounter how he
14    or she may obtain a copy of the recording made by the
15    officer-worn body camera.
16    For the purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection (b),
17the subject of the encounter does not have a reasonable
18expectation of privacy if the subject was arrested as a result
19of the encounter. For purposes of subparagraph (A) of paragraph
20(1) of this subsection (b), "witness" does not include a person
21who is a victim or who was arrested as a result of the
22encounter.
23    Only recordings or portions of recordings responsive to the
24request shall be available for inspection or reproduction. Any
25recording disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act shall
26be redacted to remove identification of any person that appears

 

 

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1on the recording and is not the officer, a subject of the
2encounter, or directly involved in the encounter. Nothing in
3this subsection (b) shall require the disclosure of any
4recording or portion of any recording which would be exempt
5from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
6    (c) Nothing in this Section shall limit access to a camera
7recording for the purposes of complying with Supreme Court
8rules or the rules of evidence.
9(Source: P.A. 99-352, eff. 1-1-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.