A legislative proposal that would allow county sheriffs to destroy most body camera footage after 90 days presents a minefield of conflicts and delays of justice.
Its passage would be bad policy and a strike against transparency in government and law enforcement.
The current law requires law enforcement agencies to retain video for seven years, which is the same as other public records.
House Bill 3224 was requested by the Tulsa County Sheriff as a money-saving measure.
If approved, it would give sheriffs the authority to delete body-cam video after 90 days unless it involved an officer-related shooting, use of lethal force, incidents resulting in medical treatment or incidents identified by the sheriff or district attorney for preservation.
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In addition, the House added a provision for each county sheriff to submit a video retention records policy to the district attorney for approval.
District attorneys would review the video to determine what is evidentiary or nonevidentiary. Judges are left out of the process.
With 77 county sheriffs and 27 district attorneys across Oklahoma — all elected on various election cycles — this will create a policy mess regarding body cam footage.
The public needs a consistent law on what is stored and for how long.
The proposed 90-day window is not enough time. Victims may need more time to come forward.
For example, some of the victims of Oklahoma City Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who was convicted of sexually assaulting women while on duty between 2013 and 2014, did not report the crimes until after 90 days.
The bill passed the House 70-17 and was defeated in the Senate 12-29 but could be reconsidered this week. It shouldn’t be.
Nothing is wrong with the current body cam retention schedule. It should be left alone.
