Bill > A5301

Introduced Session

Access to government records promotes general transparency in government. Access can expose significant failings and provide insight into what can be done to effectuate meaningful change. This is especially critical in the context of police disciplinary records. This bill makes law enforcement disciplinary records accessible as government records. Under the bill, certain information pertaining to the law enforcement officer, or the officer's family, the complainant, or the complainant's family, and a witness, or the witness' family, will be redacted. Under the bill, law enforcement disciplinary records includes, but are not limited to: complaints, allegations, and charges; the name of the officer complained of or charged; the transcript of any disciplinary trial or hearing, including any exhibits; the disposition of any proceeding; and the final written opinion or memorandum supporting the disposition and discipline imposed including the agency's complete factual findings and its analysis of the conduct and appropriate discipline of the covered officer; and internal affairs records; and videos that record incidents that gave rise to complaints, allegations, charges, or internal affairs investigations. This bill also requires that the disciplinary records of law enforcement officers must be maintained for a minimum period of not less than 20 years from the date that such document was created, except that any video and audio recording created by a body-worn camera, mobile video recorder, or other similar recording device, which recorded the incident or conduct giving rise to any complaint, allegation, charge or internal affairs investigation, must be maintained for a period not less than five years if such evidence is not part of a criminal, juvenile, or officer disciplinary investigation, or a civil action. If any video and audio recording created by a body-worn camera, mobile video recorder, or other similar recording device, which recorded the incident or conduct giving rise to any complaint, allegation, charge or internal affairs investigation is part of a criminal, juvenile, or disciplinary investigation, such records must be maintained until, at a minimum, the time of a final adjudication or conviction, including the exhaustion of any appeals, or post-conviction relief. If any video and audio recording created by a body-worn camera, mobile video recorder, or other similar recording device, which recorded the incident or conduct giving rise to any complaint, allegation, charge or internal affairs investigation is part of a civil action, such records must be maintained until, at a minimum, the time of a final resolution of the civil action, including the exhaustion of any appeals, or post-conviction relief.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Angela Mcknight (D)*,  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)*,  Britnee Timberlake (D)*,  Linda Carter (D),  Herbert Conaway (D),  Jamel Holley (D),  Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee (on 01/27/2021)