(A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever doing so is 
necessary to protect personal privacy, the right 
to a fair trial, the identity of a confidential 
source or crime victim, or the life or physical 
safety of any person appearing in video footage, 
redaction technology may be used to obscure 
the face and other personally identifying char-
acteristics of that person, including the tone of 
the person’s voice, provided the redaction does 
not interfere with a viewer’s ability to fully, 
completely, and accurately comprehend the 
events captured on the video footage. 
(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The following re-
quirements shall apply to redactions under sub-
paragraph (A): 
(i) When redaction is performed on 
video footage pursuant to this paragraph, 
an unedited, original version of the video 
footage shall be retained pursuant to the 
requirements of subsections (i) and (j). 
(ii) Except pursuant to the rules for 
the redaction of video footage set forth in 
this subsection or where it is otherwise ex-
pressly authorized by this Act, no other ed-
iting or alteration of video footage, includ-
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ing a reduction of the video footage’s reso-
lution, shall be permitted. 
(m) PROHIBITED WITHHOLDING
OF FOOTAGE.— 
Body camera video footage may not be withheld from the 
public on the basis that it is an investigatory record or 
was compiled for law enforcement purposes where any per-
son under investigation or whose conduct is under review 
is a police officer or other law enforcement employee and 
the video footage relates to that person’s conduct in their 
official capacity. 
(n) ADMISSIBILITY.—Any video footage retained be-
yond 6 months solely and exclusively pursuant to sub-
section (j)(2)(D) shall not be admissible as evidence in any 
criminal or civil legal or administrative proceeding. 
(o) CONFIDENTIALITY.—No government agency or 
official, or law enforcement agency, officer, or official may 
publicly disclose, release, or share body camera video foot-
age unless— 
(1) doing so is expressly authorized pursuant to 
this Act or another applicable law; or 
(2) the video footage is subject to public release 
pursuant to subsection (l), and not exempted from 
public release pursuant to subsection (l)(1). 
(p) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 
OFFICER VIEWING
OF BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE.—No 
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Federal law enforcement officer shall review or receive an 
accounting of any body camera video footage that is sub-
ject to a minimum 3-year retention period pursuant to 
subsection (j)(1) prior to completing any required initial 
reports, statements, and interviews regarding the recorded 
event, unless doing so is necessary, while in the field, to 
address an immediate threat to life or safety. 
(q) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.—Video footage may 
not be— 
(1) in the case of footage that is not subject to 
a minimum 3-year retention period, viewed by any 
superior officer of a Federal law enforcement officer 
whose body camera recorded the footage absent a 
specific allegation of misconduct; or 
(2) divulged or used by any law enforcement 
agency for any commercial or other non-law enforce-
ment purpose. 
(r) THIRD-PARTY MAINTENANCE
OF FOOTAGE.— 
Where a law enforcement agency authorizes a third party 
to act as its agent in maintaining body camera footage, 
the agent shall not be permitted to independently access, 
view, or alter any video footage, except to delete videos 
as required by law or agency retention policies. 
(s) ENFORCEMENT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—If any Federal law enforce-
ment officer, or any employee or agent of a Federal 
law enforcement agency fails to adhere to the re-
cording or retention requirements contained in this 
Act, intentionally interferes with a body camera’s 
ability to accurately capture video footage, or other-
wise manipulates the video footage captured by a 
body camera during or after its operation— 
(A) appropriate disciplinary action shall be 
taken against the individual officer, employee, 
or agent; 
(B) a rebuttable evidentiary presumption 
shall be adopted in favor of a criminal defend-
ant who reasonably asserts that exculpatory evi-
dence was destroyed or not captured; and 
(C) a rebuttable evidentiary presumption 
shall be adopted on behalf of a civil plaintiff 
suing the Government, a Federal law enforce-
ment agency, or a Federal law enforcement offi-
cer for damages based on misconduct who rea-
sonably asserts that evidence supporting their 
claim was destroyed or not captured. 
(2) PROOF
COMPLIANCE
WAS
IMPOSSIBLE.— 
The disciplinary action requirement and rebuttable 
presumptions described in paragraph (1) may be 
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overcome by contrary evidence or proof of exigent 
circumstances that made compliance impossible. 
(t) USE OF FORCE INVESTIGATIONS.—In the case 
that a Federal law enforcement officer equipped with a 
body camera is involved in, a witness to, or within viewable 
sight range of either the use of force by another law en-
forcement officer that results in a death, the use of force 
by another law enforcement officer, during which the dis-
charge of a firearm results in an injury, or the conduct 
of another law enforcement officer that becomes the sub-
ject of a criminal investigation— 
(1) the law enforcement agency that employs 
the law enforcement officer, or the agency or depart-
ment conducting the related criminal investigation, 
as appropriate, shall promptly take possession of the 
body camera, and shall maintain such camera, and 
any data on such camera, in accordance with the ap-
plicable rules governing the preservation of evidence; 
(2) a copy of the data on such body camera 
shall be made in accordance with prevailing forensic 
standards for data collection and reproduction; and 
(3) such copied data shall be made available to 
the public in accordance with subsection (l). 
(u) LIMITATION
ON USE
OF FOOTAGE
AS EVI-
DENCE.—Any body camera video footage recorded by a 
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