An Alabama Senate committee voted down a bill that would have required the public release of police body-worn camera video and dash camera footage. Senator Merika Coleman, the sponsor of the bill rejected 8-4 by the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she will reintroduce the legislation next year.
When Democratic Senator Merika Coleman took the podium at Wednesday’s Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, she knew she was taking on a tall order- trying to convince a majority of her 12 fellow senators to agree with her proposal.
The bill would have made such recordings public record and require release within 30 days of a request to view the video. A person could petition a circuit judge in the county if the law enforcement agency rejected the request to release the video.
Senator Coleman proposed to allow her bill, SB14, to go to the floor for a vote. SB14 would require Alabama law enforcement to release to the public police body cam and dash cam video 30 days after a request is made.
Coleman said families of people who have died in altercations with police have had delays or difficulty seeing body camera footage despite a state law saying they should have access. She told public release would also clamp down on rumors that arise when a person is killed or injured by police. She said the release could identify “bad apples” or verify that police acted appropriately.
The legislation was named after two Black men who died after being shot or shocked with a stun gun during altercations with police. Lawmakers opposed the bill and said they were concerned that the public release of the video could hamper ongoing investigations or defense efforts.
Republican Senator Lance Bell said he knew of cases where the release of the footage during an investigation would “hurt both sides badly.”