Bill > SB1773

This bill mandates that by July 1, 2028, all Arizona law enforcement agencies and the Department of Public Safety must equip every peace officer who interacts with the public with a body-worn camera, and these officers must activate their cameras during calls for service or any public contact, with specific exceptions for situations like undercover work, courtrooms, or when avoiding recording unrelated personal information, though officers can turn off cameras during long breaks in an incident or in administrative discussions. The bill defines "contact" as an interaction initiated by a peace officer to enforce or investigate a law, excluding routine public entry/exit interactions, and "physical force" as the use of physical techniques, chemical agents, or weapons. It also defines "tamper" as intentionally damaging, disabling, or obstructing a camera or its recordings. If an officer fails to activate a camera or tampers with footage, it creates a presumption against them in investigations or legal proceedings (excluding criminal cases) that the missing footage would show misconduct, and statements made by the officer related to the incident that weren't recorded due to non-activation may be inadmissible in court. Intentional failure to activate or tampering with cameras, especially to conceal wrongdoing or obstruct justice, can lead to disciplinary action up to termination, and for serious offenses like concealing actions leading to civilian death, the officer's certification can be suspended for at least a year or permanently revoked, unless exonerated by a court. Law enforcement agencies must also establish retention schedules for camera recordings and, within twenty-one days of receiving a misconduct complaint, release unedited video and audio recordings of the incident to the public, with provisions for redacting sensitive information like nudity, sexual assault, medical emergencies, mental health crises, or information about minors, unless waived by the individual or their next of kin. Recordings that would jeopardize an active investigation can be withheld for up to forty-five days with a written explanation from the prosecuting attorney.

Military Affairs and Security

https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/85455