House Bill 791 would allow law enforcement agencies to disclose police video footage to city councils or county commissions, city or county managers, or citizens review boards — all of whom would be bound by confidentiality agreements. Currently, law enforcement agencies cannot release police video footage to the public without a court order, creating too many barriers to justice. 
 
While this bill provides some additional access to video footage, it does not provide public transparency or greater accountability and it still limits who has access to the footage. For body cameras to truly serve the public good, North Carolina’s law must be amended in many ways, including by guaranteeing that people who are recorded by the police have the right to obtain that footage and empowering law enforcement officials to release footage to the public without a court order.    

Sponsors

Representatives Faircloth, McNeill, and Ross

Status

Active

Session

2019-2020

Bill number

HB 791

Position

No Position

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