101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5270

 

Introduced , by Rep. John Connor

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
50 ILCS 706/10-20

    Amends the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. Provides that recordings made with the use of an officer-worn body camera must be made available upon request to personnel of the law enforcement agency, the local State's Attorney, and any persons depicted in the recordings (rather than are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, except in limited circumstances). Provides that procedures for distribution of the recordings must include safeguards to protect the identities of individuals who are not the subjects of the encounter.


LRB101 19242 RLC 68706 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5270LRB101 19242 RLC 68706 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) (Blank). For the purposes of redaction, labeling,
23    or duplicating recordings, access to camera recordings
24    shall be restricted to only those personnel responsible for
25    those purposes. The recording officer and his or her
26    supervisor may access and review recordings prior to

 

 

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1    completing incident reports or other documentation,
2    provided that the officer or his or her supervisor
3    discloses that fact in the 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 must be made available upon request to personnel of the
12law enforcement agency, the local State's Attorney, and any
13persons depicted in the recordings. Procedures for
14distribution of the recordings must include safeguards to
15protect the identities of individuals who are not the subjects
16of the encounter. are not subject to disclosure under the
17Freedom of Information Act, except that:
18        (1) if the subject of the encounter has a reasonable
19    expectation of privacy, at the time of the recording, any
20    recording which is flagged, due to the filing of a
21    complaint, discharge of a firearm, use of force, arrest or
22    detention, or resulting death or bodily harm, shall be
23    disclosed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act
24    if:
25            (A) the subject of the encounter captured on the
26        recording is a victim or witness; and

 

 

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

 

 

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1encounter, or directly involved in the encounter. Nothing in
2this subsection (b) shall require the disclosure of any
3recording or portion of any recording which would be exempt
4from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
5    (c) Nothing in this Section shall limit access to a camera
6recording for the purposes of complying with Supreme Court
7rules or the rules of evidence.
8(Source: P.A. 99-352, eff. 1-1-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)