As New York City plans a dramatic expansion of the use of body cameras among police officers here, two state lawmakers are introducing legislation they say will make sure that video is available to the public.
Currently, police officers' “personnel” files—which include substantiated complaints and other records—are not subject to Freedom of Information Law requests.
The two lawmakers, Assemblyman Dan Quart of Manhattan and State Senator Dan Squadron of Brooklyn, both Democrats, said that a broad interpretation of that exemption could block body camera footage from being released. Their bill would ensure footage can't be blocked because of that “personnel” reason.
Currently, the NYPD is using 54 police body cameras as part of a federal court-mandated overhaul after a judge ruled that the department unfairly targeted people of color for street stops. The city plans to expand the use of body cameras by about 5,000 additional cameras.
At a press conference across the street from City Hall today, Quart explained the need for the legislation by referring to police officer Daniel Pantaleo, who was involved in the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, on Staten Island last year.
Quart pointed out that Pantaleo was reportedly accused of violating the civil rights of suspects in three separate incidents prior to Garner's death.
“Like all NYPD misconduct investigations, these records were classified as private personnel records,” he said.
As the NYPD’s body camera program expands, Quart said, “it is vital that the footage from these cameras is not similarly protected."
Squadron said body camera footage is meant to boost transparency, accountability and trust between police and local records. Police body camera footage “that is not made transparent will not serve that purpose at all. In fact, it will only further undermine confidence in what happens in these instances, if a small number [of people] have access to it and the public does not.”
Quart and Squadron said that under their legislation, footage would be altered in order to protect identifying details of suspects, thus ensuring their privacy.
A spokesperson for the group Communities United for Police Reform, Priscilla Gonzalez, applauded the legislation and said in a statement, "In order to end discriminatory and abusive policing, transparency that moves us towards true police accountability is essential."
Spokespeople for City Hall, the governor and Republican-controlled State Senate did not immediately return a request for comment.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and police commissioner Bill Bratton said they support the use of police body cameras but say the rules about their use need to be clarified.
As part of the federal court ruling, a monitor, Peter Zimroth, has been installed to oversee changes at the NYPD, including their use of body cameras. Zimroth has not released a public statement indicating what specific rules he would like to see guide the use of body cameras.
The demand for police to wear body cameras has grown over the last two years, stemming from a series of fatal police encounters captured on police cameras or by bystanders around the country. The White House allocated money for local police departments to expand their use of cameras and the idea was endorsed by Hillary Clinton, the front-running Democratic presidential nominee. Even former NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly, who once opposed the use of police body cameras, nowsupports it.
In New York City, home to the country’s largest police department, the rules about using police body cameras have not yet been fully written. The city Department of Investigation’s inspector general for the NYPD released a report last week recommending several new rules, including blocking police and complainants from viewing footage until after giving formal statements to investigators probing a disputed incident.
Bratton said he would never support that recommendation because “I am not intending to use the cameras to play a game of gotcha with the cops.”