Legislature passes bill on police body cameras, sets rules on what footage presumed to be private

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Legislature on Tuesday passed a bill that seeks to keep police body-camera videos available to the public while limiting broad requests for the footage.


On a 57-39 vote, the House on Tuesday concurred with changes made by the Senate on House Bill 2362. The measure now goes to Gov. Jay Inslee for his consideration.

The measure sets rules on what body-camera footage is presumed to be private under the Public Records Act, sets up a task force to examine best practices for their use and it encourages police agencies that plan to use the cameras to adopt policies related to their use.

Under the bill, certain videos would be presumptively private, such as footage that shows a dead body, was recorded in a home or shows a minor. Such footage would be withheld unless the requester can demonstrate that the video is of legitimate public concern.