Photo by Photo by Chris Wieland

Photo by Photo by Chris Wieland

It’s official: D.C. has one of the most expansive police body-worn camera programs in the country. However, the bill’s sponsor, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, still has one gripe.

Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the “Body-Worn Camera Program Amendment Act of 2015.” The bill allows anyone who is the subject of a video, and those alleging officer misconduct, to view footage pertaining to their cases; most recordings taken in public space (exceptions include cases of domestic violence) will also be accessible to members of the public who file a FOIA request. In addition, the mayor can release “otherwise undisclosed” footage of officer-involved shootings, use of force by an officer, and assaults that put officers in the hospital.

The mayor exercised that power for the first time last month to release video taken in the case of a man who was found unconscious and handcuffed in the custody of special police; Alonzo Smith’s death has been ruled a homicide. It was also the first time that any footage from the pilot program was released.

Attorney General Karl Racine praised the Ward 5 Councilmember in a statement today for being the “indispensable intellectual and political force” that brought the legislation to fruition.

McDuffie pressed hard to ensure that the public had access to much of the footage, requiring the administration outline the disclosure rules before allocating funding. Bowser initially fought to make the recordings exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests, but she said she had a change of heart that stemmed from continued police shootings.

While McDuffie acknowledges the bill as a “huge victory for transparency and accountability in government,” he expresses concern about an amendment to the bill that was passed in a hearing earlier this month.

Because the amendment allows officers to review footage before they write their initial reports, “I am concerned that officers may only describe what is in the video, rather than provide their complete and unfiltered memory of events,” McDuffie said in a statement.

Councilmembers Charles Allen, David Grosso, and Brianne Nadeau opposed the amendment with McDuffie. The remaining eight councilmembers agreed to the amendment and took the vote.

But there may be hope to turn it around for McDuffie, who says the council included a provision in the legislation that requires bi-annual reporting, “which will allow for close review of the program’s implementation.”

The program will outfit another 2,400 MPD officers with body-worn cameras by next spring, in addition to the 400 who already have the devices.

Filed Under: body-worn cameras, mpd, police body worn cameras,