House Bill 18

https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20212022/196598

This Bill has been modified so you can read it easier.

This is House Bill 18, proposed by Representatives Scott of the 76th, Thomas of the 39th, and McLeod of the 105th. It’s also known as the “Police Accountability Act.”

The bill proposes several changes to Title 35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, which deals with law enforcement officers and agencies. The changes include:

Peace officers must follow certain procedures when making contact with individuals for law enforcement purposes.

All law enforcement agencies must provide a body-worn camera to each peace officer.

The bill sets requirements for when body-worn cameras should be activated by peace officers, and provides exceptions.

It outlines criminal and civil penalties for non-compliance.

It allows for public disclosure of video and audio recordings captured by body-worn cameras.

It requires data collection and annual public reporting by the Attorney General regarding use of force and contacts with peace officers.

It provides for civil enforcement in the Attorney General for patterns or practices that deprive persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by law.

It provides standards for response of peace officers to protests or demonstrations.

It amends Article 2 of Chapter 21 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state tort claims, so as to remove certain immunities from the actions of certain law enforcement officers.

It provides that law enforcement officers alleged to have committed misconduct or a violation of law while acting within the scope of his or her official duties or employment shall be subject to lawsuit or liability.

It amends Article 2 of Chapter 4 of Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to arrest by law enforcement officers generally, so as to revise use of force standards.

It prohibits certain tactics and techniques.

It provides for a duty to intervene for peace officers to prevent or stop another peace officer from using excessive force.

It provides for a short title, related matters, repeals conflicting laws, and other purposes.

After a peace officer makes contact with a person, the officer must report certain information to their law enforcement agency. This includes the perceived demographic of the person contacted, whether the contact was a traffic stop, the time, date, and location of the contact, the duration of the contact, the reason for the contact, the suspected crime, and the result of the contact. The result of the contact could include no action, a warning, a citation, property seizure, or an arrest. If a warning or citation was issued, the warning provided or violation cited. If an arrest was made, the offense charged. If the contact was a traffic stop, the information collected, which is limited to the driver. The actions taken by the peace officer during the contact, including, but not limited to, whether the peace officer asked for consent to search the person, and, if so, whether consent was provided, the peace officer searched the person or any property and, if so, the basis for the search and the type of contraband or evidence discovered, if any, and the peace officer seized any property, and, if so, the type of property that was seized and the basis for seizing the property.

Starting July 1, 2024, all law enforcement agencies must provide a body-worn camera to each peace officer. Every peace officer must wear and activate a body-worn camera when responding to a call for service or during any interaction with the public initiated by the peace officer, whether consensual or nonconsensual, for the purpose of enforcing the law or investigating possible violations of the law. There are exceptions for when a peace officer may turn off a body-worn camera and when a peace officer does not need to wear or activate a body-worn camera.

If a peace officer fails to activate a body-worn camera as required or tampers with body-worn or dash-camera footage or operation when required to activate the camera, there will be a permissive inference in any investigation or legal proceeding, excluding criminal proceedings against the peace officer, that the missing footage would have reflected misconduct by the peace officer. If a peace officer fails to activate or reactivate his or her body-worn camera, any statements sought to be introduced in a prosecution through the peace officer related to the incident that were not recorded due to the peace officer’s failure to activate or reactivate the body-worn camera as required by this Code section shall be presumptively inadmissible. This does not apply if the body-worn camera was not activated due to a malfunction of the body-worn camera and the peace officer was not aware of the malfunction prior to the incident.

In addition to any criminal liability and penalty under the law, if a court, administrative law judge, or through a final decision in an internal investigation finds that a peace officer intentionally failed to activate a body-worn camera or tampered with any body-worn or dash camera, the peace officer’s employer shall impose discipline up to and including termination. If a peace officer intentionally failed to activate a body-worn camera or tampered with any body-worn or dash camera, with the intent to conceal unlawful or inappropriate actions or obstruct justice, the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council shall suspend the peace officer’s certification for a period of not less than one year and the suspension may only be lifted within the period of the suspension if the peace officer is exonerated by a court. If a peace officer intentionally failed to activate a body-worn camera or tampered with any body-worn or dash camera, with the intent to conceal unlawful or inappropriate actions, or obstruct justice, in an incident resulting in a civilian death, the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council shall permanently revoke the peace officer’s certification and the revocation may only be overturned if the peace officer is exonerated by a court.

Law enforcement agencies must establish and follow a retention schedule for body-worn camera recordings in compliance with Article 5 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.

https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2020/title-50/chapter-18/article-5/section-50-18-96/

  1. Video recordings from law enforcement body-worn devices or devices located on or inside of law enforcement vehicles shall be retained for 180 days from the date of such recording except:
    1. If such recording is part of a criminal investigation, shows a vehicular accident, shows the detainment or arrest of an individual, or shows a law enforcement officer’s use of force, it shall be retained for 30 months from the date of such recording; and 
    2. If such recording contains evidence that is or can reasonably be anticipated to be necessary for pending litigation, it shall be retained for 30 months from the date of such recording, and if litigation is commenced during such period it shall be retained until a final adjudication of such litigation.

I will be out and about a LOT with my cameras and getting free body cam from my encounters!

For all incidents in which there is a complaint of peace officer misconduct by another peace officer, a civilian, or a nonprofit organization, through notice to the law enforcement agency involved in the alleged misconduct, the law enforcement agency must release all unedited video and audio recordings of the incident, including those from body-worn cameras, dash cameras, or otherwise collected through investigation, to the public within 21 days after the law enforcement agency received the complaint of misconduct.

All video and audio recordings depicting a death must be provided to the decedent’s family at least 24 hours prior to public disclosure.

Any video that raises substantial privacy concerns for defendants, victims, witnesses, juveniles, or informants, including, but not limited to, video depicting nudity; a sexual assault; a medical emergency; a mental health crisis; a victim interview; a minor, including any images or information that might undermine the requirement to keep certain juvenile records confidential; personal information other than the name or license plate of any person not arrested, cited, charged, or issued a written warning, including a government-issued identification number, date of birth, address, or financial information; significantly explicit and gruesome bodily injury, unless the injury was caused by a peace officer; or the interior of a home or treatment facility, must be redacted or blurred to protect the substantial privacy interest while still allowing public release.

If redaction or blurring is insufficient to protect the substantial privacy interest, the law enforcement agency must release the video to the victim or, if the victim is deceased, to the victim’s family within 21 days after receipt of the complaint of misconduct.

A witness, victim, or defendant may waive in writing the individual privacy interest that may be implicated by public release. Upon receipt of a written waiver of the applicable privacy interest, accompanied by a request for release, the law enforcement agency shall not redact or withhold release to protect that privacy interest.

Any video that would substantially interfere with or jeopardize an active or ongoing investigation may be withheld from the public, except that the video must be released no later than 30 days from the date of the allegation of misconduct. In all cases when release of a video is delayed in reliance on this subsection, the prosecuting attorney must prepare.

The law requires a written explanation for any delay in releasing video footage related to an incident. This explanation must be provided at the time of refusal and released to the public when the video is released. If criminal charges are filed against any party involved in the incident, they must file any constitutional objections to the release of the recording within 21 days. The court must hold a hearing on the objection within seven days of filing and issue a ruling within three days of the hearing.

Starting July 1, 2024, the Attorney General must create an annual report that includes all information reported to them. This information is broken down by the law enforcement agency that employs peace officers. Each law enforcement agency must report to the Attorney General every year starting January 1, 2024. The report must include all instances of use of force that result in death or serious bodily injury, all instances when a peace officer resigned while under investigation, and all data relating to contacts conducted by its peace officers.

The Attorney General and law enforcement agencies are not allowed to report personal identifying information of the subject of the use of force, victim of the official misconduct, or persons contacted, searched, or subjected to a property seizure. The data reported is available to the public. The Attorney General must maintain a state-wide database with this data and publish it on their official website. Law enforcement agencies that do not comply with these requirements may have their state funding withheld.

It is unlawful for any governmental authority, or any agent thereof, to engage in a pattern or practice of conduct by peace officers that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of this state or the United States. If a peace officer is convicted of or pleads guilty to a crime involving the unlawful use or threatened use of physical force, or is found civilly liable for using excessive force, their certification must be permanently revoked.

In response to a protest or demonstration, a law enforcement agency and any person acting on behalf of the law enforcement agency are not allowed to discharge kinetic impact projectiles and all other nonlethal or less lethal projectiles in a manner that targets the head, pelvis, or back; discharge kinetic impact projectiles indiscriminately into a crowd; or use chemical agents or irritants, including pepper spray and tear gas, prior to issuing an order to disperse in a sufficient manner to ensure the order is heard and repeated if necessary, followed by sufficient time and space to allow compliance with the order.

The law also includes provisions for the handling of tort claims, the immunity of state officers or employees for acts within the scope of official duties or employment, and the use of force by law enforcement officers.

Disclaimer: This webpage is not an official government page or an emergency line. It is dedicated to displaying information about police misconduct and naming the agencies involved. The content provided here is for informational purposes only and does not constitute official records or legal advice. In case of an emergency, please contact your local authorities or dial 911. For official information, please refer to the appropriate government or law enforcement websites.

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