House GOP deadlocked on body cam bill
The chief House author of a bill involving video taken by cameras worn by police officers says the House is unlikely to take up the issue this year.
Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, said the House is unlikely to vote on the bill this year. He said House Republicans think the issue is too complex to tackle this session.
“We think it's better to get a big working group together, maybe a task force, a blue ribbon panel or something and just wait until next year,” Cornish said.
Police groups have pushed to privatize most data collected by body cameras because they say it will be too costly to conceal some images on body cam videos. But civil liberties groups argue the video should be public to hold police accountable.
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Cornish says if the Legislature doesn't act this year, the data will be accessible to the public.
“Departments will have to make the decision whether they want to comply with the huge data request or just stop using them,” Cornish said. “But that problem isn't as big as the problem that we’re trying to solve. So if that’s what happens, that’s what happens.”
Meanwhile, the Senate is moving forward with its version of the body camera bill.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation Friday that limits public access to most body cam video but makes exceptions when an officer causes bodily harm or uses a dangerous weapon.
Gov. Mark Dayton told reporters Friday that he hasn't studied the issue enough to take a stand on it.