Recordings from law enforcement body and dashboard cameras will not be considered public records in North Carolina under a law signed Monday by Gov. Pat McCrory.
(FOX)- Civil libertarians and social justice activists said the law will make it more difficult to hold officers accountable.
Bystander videos posted online have fueled protests nationwide after last week’s killings of black men by white officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, and the attack by a black sniper that killed five officers at a march in Dallas. Police videos of these crime scenes have yet to be made public.
The law clarifies that body and dashboard camera recordings cannot be kept confidential as part of an officer’s personnel file — a practice that has kept some images from being scrutinized indefinitely.
“If you hold a piece of film for a long period of time, you completely lose the trust of individuals,” the governor said. On the other hand, “we’ve learned if you immediately release a video, sometimes it distorts the entire picture, which is extremely unfair to our law enforcement officials.”
While 29 other states and D.C. have laws addressing police camera recordings, North Carolina joins at least five other states that exempt them from public records requests, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Supporters say the law, which will take effect in October, will protect the privacy of crime victims and suspects as well as officers. McCrory says the uniform system of requesting access will increase public safety.