KANSAS CITY, MO. (CNN) — A lawmaker in Jefferson City hopes to protect privacy by limiting who can access footage from police body cameras.
A Kansas city-area Republican has filed legislation that would not allow the public and media to access footage shot in a “non-public” location, such as a home, school or medical facility.
Rep. Kenneth Wilson said the bill is all about protecting places where a person would have an “expectation of privacy.”
In 2015, a bill from another Republican lawmaker attempted to bar all footage from the public and media until after it went through the investigative process, but it failed to pass.
Attorney General Chris Koster has also called on the general assembly “to enact legislation authorizing law enforcement’s use of body cameras while protecting video footage from those who would monetize it or exploit the people it depicts.”
But proponents of body cameras say that’s not the idea. The idea is to keep police accountable, protecting both officers and citizens.
In May, there was an officer-involved shooting inside a south St. Louis home. At the time, the woman’s sister said she didn’t believe the officers’ version of events.
“She would never point a gun at a police officer, I think the cops came in like Clint Eastwood, John Wayne and just started shooting up the place,” said Rebecca Morgan.
Camera footage from officers might have provided a better idea of what happened. That case is still under investigation.
Rep. Wilson says in the situation of an officer-involved shooting, that video could eventually be released through an order from a judge.
The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. (PHOTO: FLICKR)
