COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Clinton Township police officers have been using body cameras for about a year. Chief Mike Jones says citizen complaints against officers are down and the number of incidents of officer’s use of force is down.
“So when everybody knows that there’s people watching, everybody behaves like they should out there,” Chief Jones told NBC4.
The chief says overall the body cameras have been a success.
But while the chief says the cameras have been a success overall, there have been a number of questions about whether certain videos are a public record or whether they are exempt under privacy laws or HIPAA.
The chief cites as examples, officer encounters with the mentally ill, officers entering a private residence for a domestic violence call, and video of victims at the scene of a car crash. “These are the videos we need to have caution on and when and when not to release these and we need some statutory guidance in that area.”
State Rep. Niraj Antani believes he may have some answers. Antani introduced a bill this week that would establish a number of public record exemptions for body camera videos to address privacy concerns. “We’ve heard from a lot of sheriffs and chiefs that a state standard for public records law is necessary to give direction to them,” Antani said.
Antani’s proposal creates exemptions for body camera videos of victims of sexual assaults, personal identifying information like social security numbers, and video recorded inside private residences.
“I don’t want people to see where you keep your guns, where your wife keeps her jewelry and where your children sleep,” Antani said. “I don’t think that’s right.”
Antani says he expects his bill will change with more input from interested parties but hopes to at least start the public dialogue.What others are clicking on: