Publication: San Francisco Examiner
A new state transparency law will take effect Monday that sets a short time frame for law enforcement across California to release body camera footage in serious cases, including police shootings.
Under Assembly Bill 748, law enforcement agencies will have to release the footage within 45 days of an “critical incident,” unless doing so would interfere with an investigation.
The legislation from Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, is intended to create a uniform process for releasing body camera footage and to help law enforcement build trust with communities.
“That trust can’t be built between communities and law enforcement unless the public can see the footage,” Ting said in a recent interview.
Ting said he modeled the legislation after a policy adopted last year by the Los Angeles Police Commission. The commission created the policy after the Los Angeles Police Department appeared to selectively release footage from police shootings depending on whether the suspect was armed.
“When push came to shove, it could just be denied just because they felt like it,” Ting said of requests for body camera footage.