102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5133

 

Introduced 1/27/2022, by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
50 ILCS 706/10-20

    Amends the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. Provides that notwithstanding any provisions of the Act to the contrary, the law enforcement agency: (1) shall within 5 business days after an officer-involved death or the officer's use of force likely to cause death or great bodily harm, publicly release the names and officer-worn body camera recordings of all officers who committed the officer-involved death or force likely to cause death or great bodily harm; and (2) shall publicly release the names and officer-worn body camera recordings of all officers who have committed an officer-involved death since January 1, 2014; and (3) may, on a case-by-case basis in matters of significant public interest and after consultation with the chief of police of the law enforcement agency whose officer's recorded the officer-worn body camera recordings and the Attorney General, publicly release any other officer-worn body camera recordings that may not otherwise be releasable under a Freedom of Information Act request. Provides that the law enforcement agency shall not release an officer-worn body camera recording under if the following persons inform the chief of police, orally or in writing, that they do not consent to its release: (1) for an officer-worn body camera recording of an officer-involved death, the decedent's next of kin; and (2) for an officer-worn body camera recording of the officer's use of force likely to cause death or great bodily harm, the individual against whom the force likely to cause death or great bodily harm was used, or if the individual is a minor or unable to consent, the individual's next of kin.


LRB102 23189 RLC 32351 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5133LRB102 23189 RLC 32351 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
5Act is 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
9of officer-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            (C) Officer-worn body cameras may be turned off
15        when the officer is inside a correctional facility or
16        courthouse which is equipped with a functioning camera
17        system.
18        (4) Cameras must be turned off when:
19            (A) the victim of a crime requests that the camera
20        be turned off, and unless impractical or impossible,
21        that request is made on the recording;
22            (B) a witness of a crime or a community member who
23        wishes to report a crime requests that the camera be
24        turned off, and unless impractical or impossible that
25        request is made on the recording;
26            (C) the officer is interacting with a confidential

 

 

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1        informant used by the law enforcement agency; or
2            (D) an officer of the Department of Revenue enters
3        a Department of Revenue facility or conducts an
4        interview during which return information will be
5        discussed or visible.
6        However, an officer may continue to record or resume
7    recording a victim or a witness, if exigent circumstances
8    exist, or if the officer has reasonable articulable
9    suspicion that a victim or witness, or confidential
10    informant has committed or is in the process of committing
11    a crime. Under these circumstances, and unless impractical
12    or impossible, the officer must indicate on the recording
13    the reason for continuing to record despite the request of
14    the victim or witness.
15        (4.5) Cameras may be turned off when the officer is
16    engaged in community caretaking functions. However, the
17    camera must be turned on when the officer has reason to
18    believe that the person on whose behalf the officer is
19    performing a community caretaking function has committed
20    or is in the process of committing a crime. If exigent
21    circumstances exist which prevent the camera from being
22    turned on, the camera must be turned on as soon as
23    practicable.
24        (5) The officer must provide notice of recording to
25    any person if the person has a reasonable expectation of
26    privacy and proof of notice must be evident in the

 

 

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1    recording. If exigent circumstances exist which prevent
2    the officer from providing notice, notice must be provided
3    as soon as practicable.
4        (6) (A) For the purposes of redaction, labeling, or
5    duplicating recordings, access to camera recordings shall
6    be restricted to only those personnel responsible for
7    those purposes. The recording officer or his or her
8    supervisor may not redact, label, duplicate or otherwise
9    alter the recording officer's camera recordings. Except as
10    otherwise provided in this Section, the recording officer
11    and his or her supervisor may access and review recordings
12    prior to completing incident reports or other
13    documentation, provided that the supervisor discloses that
14    fact in the report or documentation.
15            (i) A law enforcement officer shall not have
16        access to or review his or her body-worn camera
17        recordings or the body-worn camera recordings of
18        another officer prior to completing incident reports
19        or other documentation when the officer:
20                (a) has been involved in or is a witness to an
21            officer-involved shooting, use of deadly force
22            incident, or use of force incidents resulting in
23            great bodily harm;
24                (b) is ordered to write a report in response
25            to or during the investigation of a misconduct
26            complaint against the officer.

 

 

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1            (ii) If the officer subject to subparagraph (i)
2        prepares a report, any report shall be prepared
3        without viewing body-worn camera recordings, and
4        subject to supervisor's approval, officers may file
5        amendatory reports after viewing body-worn camera
6        recordings. Supplemental reports under this provision
7        shall also contain documentation regarding access to
8        the video footage.
9            (B) The recording officer's assigned field
10        training officer may access and review recordings for
11        training purposes. Any detective or investigator
12        directly involved in the investigation of a matter may
13        access and review recordings which pertain to that
14        investigation but may not have access to delete or
15        alter such recordings.
16        (7) Recordings made on officer-worn cameras must be
17    retained by the law enforcement agency or by the camera
18    vendor used by the agency, on a recording medium for a
19    period of 90 days.
20            (A) Under no circumstances shall any recording,
21        except for a non-law enforcement related activity or
22        encounter, made with an officer-worn body camera be
23        altered, erased, or destroyed prior to the expiration
24        of the 90-day storage period. In the event any
25        recording made with an officer-worn body camera is
26        altered, erased, or destroyed prior to the expiration

 

 

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1        of the 90-day storage period, the law enforcement
2        agency shall maintain, for a period of one year, a
3        written record including (i) the name of the
4        individual who made such alteration, erasure, or
5        destruction, and (ii) the reason for any such
6        alteration, erasure, or destruction.
7            (B) Following the 90-day storage period, any and
8        all recordings made with an officer-worn body camera
9        must be destroyed, unless any encounter captured on
10        the recording has been flagged. An encounter is deemed
11        to be flagged when:
12                (i) a formal or informal complaint has been
13            filed;
14                (ii) the officer discharged his or her firearm
15            or used force during the encounter;
16                (iii) death or great bodily harm occurred to
17            any person in the recording;
18                (iv) the encounter resulted in a detention or
19            an arrest, excluding traffic stops which resulted
20            in only a minor traffic offense or business
21            offense;
22                (v) the officer is the subject of an internal
23            investigation or otherwise being investigated for
24            possible misconduct;
25                (vi) the supervisor of the officer,
26            prosecutor, defendant, or court determines that

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1    Information Act; and
2        (3) upon request, the law enforcement agency shall
3    disclose, in accordance with the Freedom of Information
4    Act, the recording to the subject of the encounter
5    captured on the recording or to the subject's attorney, or
6    the officer or his or her legal representative.
7    For the purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection (b),
8the subject of the encounter does not have a reasonable
9expectation of privacy if the subject was arrested as a result
10of the encounter. For purposes of subparagraph (A) of
11paragraph (1) of this subsection (b), "witness" does not
12include a person who is a victim or who was arrested as a
13result of the encounter.
14    Only recordings or portions of recordings responsive to
15the request shall be available for inspection or reproduction.
16Any recording disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act
17shall be redacted to remove identification of any person that
18appears on the recording and is not the officer, a subject of
19the encounter, or directly involved in the encounter. Nothing
20in this subsection (b) shall require the disclosure of any
21recording or portion of any recording which would be exempt
22from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
23    (b-5)(1) Notwithstanding any provisions of subsection (b)
24to the contrary, the law enforcement agency, except as
25provided in subparagraph (2) of this subsection:
26        (A) shall within 5 business days after an

 

 

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1    officer-involved death or the officer's use of force
2    likely to cause death or great bodily harm, publicly
3    release the names and officer-worn body camera recordings
4    of all officers who committed the officer-involved death
5    or force likely to cause death or great bodily harm; and
6        (B) shall publicly release the names and officer-worn
7    body camera recordings of all officers who have committed
8    an officer-involved death since January 1, 2014; and
9    (2) may, on a case-by-case basis in matters of significant
10public interest and after consultation with the chief of
11police of the law enforcement agency whose officer's recorded
12the officer-worn body camera recordings and the Attorney
13General, publicly release any other officer-worn body camera
14recordings that may not otherwise be releasable under a
15Freedom of Information Act request.
16    (3) The law enforcement agency shall not release an
17officer-worn body camera recording under paragraph (1) of this
18subsection if the following persons inform the chief of
19police, orally or in writing, that they do not consent to its
20release:
21        (A) for an officer-worn body camera recording of an
22    officer-involved death, the decedent's next of kin; and
23        (B) for an officer-worn body camera recording of the
24    officer's use of force likely to cause death or great
25    bodily harm, the individual against whom the force likely
26    to cause death or great bodily harm was used, or if the

 

 

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1    individual is a minor or unable to consent, the
2    individual's next of kin.
3    In the event of a disagreement between the persons who
4must consent to the release of an officer-worn body camera
5recording under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph (3), the
6law enforcement agency shall seek a resolution in the circuit
7court of the county in which the law enforcement agency is
8located. The circuit court of that county shall order the
9release of the officer-worn body camera recording if it finds
10that the release is in the interests of justice.
11    (4) Before publicly releasing an officer-worn body camera
12recording of an officer-involved death, the law enforcement
13agency shall:
14        (A) consult with an organization with expertise in
15    trauma and grief on best practices for creating an
16    opportunity for the decedent's next of kin to view the
17    officer-worn body camera recording in advance of its
18    release;
19        (B) notify the decedent's next of kin of its impending
20    release, including the date when it will be released; and
21        (C) offer the decedent's next of kin the opportunity
22    to view the officer-worn body camera recording privately
23    in a non-law enforcement setting in advance of its
24    release, and if the next of kin wish to so view the
25    officer-worn body camera recording, facilitate its
26    viewing.

 

 

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1    (c) Nothing in this Section shall limit access to a camera
2recording for the purposes of complying with Supreme Court
3rules or the rules of evidence.
4(Source: P.A. 101-652, eff. 7-1-21; 102-28, eff. 6-25-21;
5revised 7-30-21.)