Members of the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee was rejected a proposed bill. That bill was proposed by Alabama Sen. Merika Coleman would require a law enforcement from public to release body camera videos. Releasing the body camera video was rejected 8-4 by the committee.
The Northport Police Department has been using body camera videos for more than a decade and the Assistant Police Chief Keith Carpenter says that they play a urgent role in officer’s jobs.
“It’s a way for us to collect more evidence and stuff to be used in court cases,” Carpenter said. “And it also gives us a chance to hold our officers accountable.” Coleman said she will be going to reintroduce that bill again in next year.
Carpenter said, “Whatever a state law that passes says would be something that we would follow based on what our legal department recommended as far as of release of it goes.”