Title: Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act of 2018
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act of 2018
This bill establishes requirements for federal law enforcement officers in uniform to wear body cameras and for federal law enforcement agencies to install video cameras in patrol cars.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7156 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7156

 To require uniformed Federal police officers to wear body cameras and 
               have dashboard cameras in marked vehicles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 16, 2018

 Ms. Norton (for herself and Mr. Beyer) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require uniformed Federal police officers to wear body cameras and 
               have dashboard cameras in marked vehicles.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Police Camera and 
Accountability Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL UNIFORMED OFFICERS REGARDING THE USE 
              OF BODY CAMERAS.

    (a) Uniformed officers with the authority to conduct searches and 
make arrests shall wear a body camera. Such body cameras shall--
            (1) have a field of view at least as broad as the officer's 
        vision; and
            (2) be worn in a manner that maximizes the camera's ability 
        to capture video footage of the officer's activities.
    (b) Both the video and audio recording functions of the body camera 
shall be activated whenever a uniformed officer is responding to a call 
for service or at the initiation of any other law enforcement or 
investigative encounter between a uniformed officer and a member of the 
public, except that when an immediate threat to the officer's life or 
safety makes activating the camera impossible or dangerous, the officer 
shall activate the camera at the first reasonable opportunity to do so. 
The body camera shall not be deactivated until the encounter has fully 
concluded and the uniformed officer leaves the scene.
    (c) A uniformed officer who is wearing a body camera shall notify 
any subject of the recording that he or she is being recorded by a body 
camera as close to the inception of the encounter as is reasonably 
possible.
    (d) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (b), the 
following shall apply to the use of a body camera:
            (1) Prior to entering a private residence without a warrant 
        or in non-exigent circumstances, a uniformed officer shall ask 
        the occupant if the occupant wants the officer to discontinue 
        use of the officer's body camera. If the occupant responds 
        affirmatively, the uniformed officer shall immediately 
        discontinue use of the body camera. The officer shall record 
        such communication using the officer's body camera.
            (2) When interacting with an apparent crime victim, a 
        uniformed officer shall, as soon as practicable, ask the 
        apparent crime victim if the apparent crime victim wants the 
        officer to discontinue use of the officer's body camera. If the 
        apparent crime victim responds affirmatively, the uniformed 
        officer shall immediately discontinue use of the body camera.
            (3) When interacting with a person seeking to anonymously 
        report a crime or assist in an ongoing law enforcement 
        investigation, a uniformed officer shall, as soon as 
        practicable, ask the person seeking to remain anonymous, if the 
        person seeking to remain anonymous wants the officer to 
        discontinue use of the officer's body camera. If the person 
        seeking to remain anonymous responds affirmatively, the 
        uniformed officer shall immediately discontinue use of the body 
        camera.
    (e) All law enforcement offers to discontinue the use of a body 
camera made pursuant to subsection (d), and the responses thereto, 
shall be recorded by the body camera prior to discontinuing use of the 
body camera.
    (f) Body cameras shall not be used to gather intelligence 
information based on First Amendment protected speech, associations, or 
religion, or to record activity that is unrelated to a response to a 
call for service or a law enforcement or investigative encounter 
between a law enforcement officer and a member of the public, and shall 
not be equipped with or subjected to any real time facial recognition 
technologies.
    (g) Uniformed officers shall not activate a body camera while on 
the grounds of any public, private or parochial elementary or secondary 
school, except when responding to an imminent threat to life or health.
    (h) Body camera video footage shall be retained by the law 
enforcement agency that employs the officer whose camera captured the 
footage, or an authorized agent thereof, for 6 months after the date it 
was recorded, after which time such footage shall be permanently 
deleted.
            (1) During the 6-month retention period, the following 
        persons shall have the right to inspect the body camera 
        footage:
                    (A) Any person who is a subject of body camera 
                video footage, and their designated legal counsel.
                    (B) A parent of a minor subject of body camera 
                video footage, and their designated legal counsel.
                    (C) The spouse, next of kin or legally authorized 
                designee of a deceased subject of body camera video 
                footage, and their designated legal counsel.
                    (D) A uniformed officer whose body camera recorded 
                the video footage, and their designated legal counsel, 
                subject to the limitations and restrictions in this 
                Act.
                    (E) The superior officer of a uniformed officer 
                whose body camera recorded the video footage, subject 
                to the limitations and restrictions in this Act.
                    (F) Any defense counsel who claims, pursuant to a 
                written affidavit, to have a reasonable basis for 
                believing a video may contain evidence that exculpates 
                a client.
            (2) The right to inspect subject to subsection (i)(1) shall 
        not include the right to possess a copy of the body camera 
        video footage, unless the release of the body camera footage is 
        otherwise authorized by this Act or by another applicable law.
            (3) When a body camera fails to capture some or all of the 
        audio or video of an incident due to malfunction, displacement 
        of camera, or any other cause, any audio or video footage that 
        is captured shall be treated the same as any other body camera 
        audio or video footage under the law.
    (i) Notwithstanding the retention and deletion requirements in 
subsection (h):
            (1) Video footage shall be automatically retained for no 
        less than 3 years if the video footage captures an interaction 
        or event involving--
                    (A) any use of force; or
                    (B) an encounter about which a complaint has been 
                registered by a subject of the video footage.
            (2) Body camera video footage shall also be retained for no 
        less than 3 years if a longer retention period is voluntarily 
        requested by--
                    (A) the uniformed officer whose body camera 
                recorded the video footage, if that officer reasonably 
                asserts the video footage has evidentiary or 
                exculpatory value in an ongoing investigation;
                    (B) any uniformed officer who is a subject of the 
                video footage, if that officer reasonably asserts the 
                video footage has evidentiary or exculpatory value;
                    (C) any superior officer of a uniformed officer 
                whose body camera recorded the video footage or who is 
                a subject of the video footage, if that superior 
                officer reasonably asserts the video footage has 
                evidentiary or exculpatory value;
                    (D) any uniformed officer, if the video footage is 
                being retained solely and exclusively for police 
                training purposes;
                    (E) any member of the public who is a subject of 
                the video footage;
                    (F) any parent or legal guardian of a minor who is 
                a subject of the video footage; or
                    (G) a deceased subject's spouse, next of kin, or 
                legally authorized designee.
    (j) To effectuate subsections (i)(2)(E), (i)(2)(F), and (i)(2)(G), 
any member of the public who is a subject of video footage, the parent 
or legal guardian of a minor who is a subject of the video footage, or 
a deceased subject's next of kin or legally authorized designee, shall 
be permitted to review the specific video footage in question in order 
to make a determination as to whether they will voluntarily request it 
be subjected to a 3-year retention period.
    (k) All video footage of an interaction or event captured by a body 
camera, if that interaction or event is identified with reasonable 
specificity and requested by a member of the public, shall be provided 
to the person or entity making the request in accordance with the 
procedures for requesting and providing government records set forth in 
the section 552a of title 5, United States Code.
            (1) Notwithstanding the public release requirements in this 
        subsection, the following categories of video footage shall not 
        be released to the public in the absence of express written 
        permission from the non-law enforcement subjects of the video 
        footage--
                    (A) video footage not subject to a minimum 3-year 
                retention period pursuant to subsection (i); and
                    (B) video footage that is subject to a minimum 3-
                year retention period solely and exclusively pursuant 
                to subsection (i)(1)(B) or (i)(2).
            (2) Notwithstanding any time periods established for 
        acknowledging and responding to records requests in section 
        552a of title 5, United States Code, responses to requests for 
        video footage that is subject to a minimum 3-year retention 
        period pursuant to subsection (i)(1)(A), where a subject of the 
        video footage is recorded being killed, shot by a firearm, or 
        grievously injured, shall be prioritized and the requested 
        video footage shall be provided as expeditiously as possible, 
        but in no circumstances later than 5 days following receipt of 
        the request.
            (3) 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 characteristics 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. 
        The following apply to such redactions:
                    (A) 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 (h) and (i).
                    (B) Except pursuant to the rules for the redaction 
                of video footage set forth in this subsection or where 
                it is otherwise expressly authorized by this Act, no 
                other editing or alteration of video footage, including 
                a reduction of the video footage's resolution, shall be 
                permitted.
            (4) The provisions governing the production of body camera 
        video footage to the public in this Act shall take precedence 
        over all other State and local laws, rules, and regulations to 
        the contrary.
    (l) 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 person 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 on-the-job 
conduct.
    (m) Any video footage retained beyond 6 months solely and 
exclusively pursuant to subsection (i)(2)(D) shall not be admissible as 
evidence in any criminal or civil legal or administrative proceeding.
    (n) No government agency or official, or law enforcement agency, 
officer, or official may publicly disclose, release, or share body 
camera video footage 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 (k), and not exempted from public release 
        pursuant to subsection (k)(1).
    (o) No uniformed officer shall review or receive an accounting of 
any body camera video footage that is subject to a minimum 3-year 
retention period pursuant to subsection (i)(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.
    (p) 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 
        uniformed officer whose body camera recorded the footage absent 
        a specific allegation of misconduct; or
            (2) subjected to facial recognition or any other form of 
        automated analysis or analytics of any kind, unless--
                    (A) a judicial warrant providing authorization is 
                obtained;
                    (B) the judicial warrant specifies the precise 
                video recording to which the authorization applies; and
                    (C) the authorizing court finds there is probable 
                cause to believe that the requested use of facial 
                recognition is relevant to an ongoing criminal 
                investigation.
    (q) Video footage shall not be divulged or used by any law 
enforcement agency for any commercial or other non-law enforcement 
purpose.
    (r) 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) If any uniformed officer, employee, or agent fails to adhere to 
the recording or retention requirements contained in this Act, 
intentionally interfere with a body camera's ability to accurately 
capture video footage, or otherwise manipulate the video footage 
captured by a body camera during or after its operation--
            (1) appropriate disciplinary action shall be taken against 
        the individual officer, employee or agent;
            (2) a rebuttable evidentiary presumption shall be adopted 
        in favor of criminal defendants who reasonably assert that 
        exculpatory evidence was destroyed or not captured; and
            (3) a rebuttable evidentiary presumption shall be adopted 
        on behalf of civil plaintiffs suing the government, a law 
        enforcement agency and/or uniformed officers for damages based 
        on police misconduct who reasonably assert that evidence 
        supporting their claim was destroyed or not captured.
    (t) The disciplinary action requirement and rebuttable presumptions 
in subsection (s) may be overcome by contrary evidence or proof of 
exigent circumstances that made compliance impossible.
    (u) In the case that a 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 enforcement officer that results 
in a death, the use of force by another law enforcement officer, during 
which the discharge of a firearm results in an injury, or the conduct 
of another law enforcement officer that becomes the subject of a 
criminal investigation--
            (1) the law enforcement agency that employs the law 
        enforcement officer, or the agency or department 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 
        applicable 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).
    (v) Any body camera video footage recorded in contravention of this 
Act or any other applicable law may not be offered as evidence by any 
government entity, agency, department, prosecutorial office, or any 
other subdivision thereof in any criminal or civil action or proceeding 
against any member of the public.
    (w) Any law enforcement policy or other guidance regarding body 
cameras, their use, or the video footage therefrom that is adopted by a 
Federal agency or department, shall be made publicly available on that 
agency's website.
    (x) Nothing in this Act shall be read to contravene any laws 
governing the maintenance, production, and destruction of evidence in 
criminal investigations and prosecutions.
    (y) As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``uniformed officer'' shall mean any person 
        authorized by law to conduct searches and effectuate arrests 
        and who is employed by the Federal Government.
            (2) The term ``minor'' means any person under 18 years of 
        age.
            (3) The term ``subject of the video footage'' shall mean 
        any identifiable uniformed officer or any identifiable suspect, 
        victim, detainee, conversant, injured party, or other similarly 
        situated person who appears on the body camera recording, and 
        shall not include people who only incidentally appear on the 
        recording.
            (4) The term ``use of force'' shall mean any action by a 
        uniformed officer that--
                    (A) results in death, injury, complaint of injury, 
                or complaint of pain that persists beyond the use of a 
                physical control hold;
                    (B) involves the use of a weapon, including a 
                personal body weapon, chemical agent, impact weapon, 
                extended range impact weapon, sonic weapon, sensory 
                weapon, conducted energy device, or firearm, against a 
                member of the public; or
                    (C) involves any intentional pointing of a firearm 
                at a member of the public.
            (5) The term ``video footage'' shall mean any images or 
        audio recorded by a body camera.

SEC. 3. PATROL VEHICLES WITH IN-CAR VIDEO RECORDING CAMERAS.

    (a) As used in this section:
            (1) The term ``audio recording'' means the recorded 
        conversation between an officer and a second party.
            (2) The term ``emergency lights'' means oscillating, 
        rotating, or flashing lights on patrol vehicles.
            (3) The term ``in-car video camera'' means a video camera 
        located in a patrol vehicle.
            (4) The term ``in-car video camera recording equipment'' 
        means a video camera recording system located in a patrol 
        vehicle consisting of a camera assembly, recording mechanism, 
        and an in-car video recording medium.
            (5) The term ``enforcement stop'' means an action by an 
        officer in relation to enforcement and investigation duties, 
        including traffic stops, pedestrian stops, abandoned vehicle 
        contacts, motorist assists, commercial motor vehicle stops, 
        roadside safety checks, requests for identification, or 
        responses to requests for emergency assistance.
            (6) The term ``recording'' means the process of capturing 
        data or information stored on a recording medium as required 
        under this section.
            (7) The term ``recording medium'' means any recording 
        medium for the retention and playback of recorded audio and 
        video including VHS, DVD, hard drive, solid state, digital, or 
        flash memory technology.
            (8) The term ``wireless microphone'' means a device worn by 
        the officer or any other equipment used to record conversations 
        between the officer and a second party and transmitted to the 
        recording equipment.
    (b) Each Federal law enforcement agency shall install in-car video 
camera recording equipment in all patrol vehicles with a recording 
medium capable of recording for a period of 10 hours or more and 
capable of making audio recordings with the assistance of a wireless 
microphone.
    (c) In-car video camera recording equipment with a recording medium 
incapable of recording for a period of 10 hours or more shall record 
activities outside a patrol vehicle whenever (i) an officer assigned a 
patrol vehicle is conducting an enforcement stop; (ii) patrol vehicle 
emergency lights are activated or would otherwise be activated if not 
for the need to conceal the presence of law enforcement; or (iii) an 
officer reasonably believes recording may assist with prosecution, 
enhance safety, or for any other lawful purpose. In-car video camera 
recording equipment with a recording medium incapable of recording for 
a period of 10 hours or more shall record activities inside the vehicle 
when transporting an arrestee or when an officer reasonably believes 
recording may assist with prosecution, enhance safety, or for any other 
lawful purpose.
            (1) Recording for an enforcement stop shall begin when the 
        officer determines an enforcement stop is necessary and shall 
        continue until the enforcement action has been completed and 
        the subject of the enforcement stop or the officer has left the 
        scene.
            (2) Recording shall begin when patrol vehicle emergency 
        lights are activated or when they would otherwise be activated 
        if not for the need to conceal the presence of law enforcement, 
        and shall continue until the reason for the activation ceases 
        to exist, regardless of whether the emergency lights are no 
        longer activated.
            (3) An officer may begin recording if the officer 
        reasonably believes recording may assist with prosecution, 
        enhance safety, or for any other lawful purpose; and shall 
        continue until the reason for recording ceases to exist.
    (d) In-car video camera recording equipment with a recording medium 
capable of recording for a period of 10 hours or more shall record 
activities whenever a patrol vehicle is assigned to patrol duty.
    (e) Any enforcement stop shall be video and audio recorded. Audio 
recording shall terminate upon release of the violator and prior to 
initiating a separate criminal investigation.
    (f) Recordings made on in-car video camera recording medium shall 
be retained for a storage period of at least 90 days. Under no 
circumstances shall any recording made on in-car video camera recording 
medium be altered or erased prior to the expiration of the designated 
storage period. Upon completion of the storage period, the recording 
medium may be erased and reissued for operational use unless otherwise 
ordered or if designated for evidentiary or training purposes.
    (g) Audio or video recordings made pursuant to this section shall 
be available under the applicable provisions of section 552a of title 
5, United States Code. Only recorded portions of the audio recording or 
video recording medium applicable to the request will be available for 
inspection or copying.
    (h) The agency shall ensure proper care and maintenance of in-car 
video camera recording equipment and recording medium. An officer 
operating a patrol vehicle must immediately document and notify the 
appropriate person of any technical difficulties, failures, or problems 
with the in-car video camera recording equipment or recording medium. 
Upon receiving notice, every reasonable effort shall be made to correct 
and repair any of the in-car video camera recording equipment or 
recording medium and determine if it is in the public interest to 
permit the use of the patrol vehicle.

SEC. 4. FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY.

    No camera or recording device authorized or required to be used 
under this Act may employ facial recognition technology.

SEC. 5. GAO STUDY.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on 
Federal police officers' training, vehicle pursuits, use of force, and 
interaction with citizens, and submit a report on such study to--
            (1) the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives and of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 
        House of Representatives; and
            (3) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs of the Senate.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to impose any requirement on 
a uniformed officer outside of the course of carrying out that 
officer's duty.
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