SOUTH CAROLINA

SC Press Association urges lawmakers to grant public access to body cameras

Daniel J. Gross
Greenville News

A state House subcommittee is discussing matters of police reform Tuesday, and the South Carolina Press Association is urging lawmakers to make police body camera footage public.

Under current body camera legislation in South Carolina, footage captured by law enforcement is exempt from public disclosure through the Freedom of Information Act.

The SCPA president wants to change that, and he sent letters to editors of newspapers across South Carolina Monday to lobby on their behalf. A letter was also sent to the subcommittee along with proposed amendments to the body camera bill.

More:Secrecy of police body camera footage in SC compounds accountability issues

The Law Enforcement Officer Training, Tactics, Standards and Accountability Subcommittee of the House Equitable Justice System and Law Enforcement Reform Committee will hold its hearing at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. The subcommittee is not allowing public testimony for the hearing, but SCPA president Bill Rogers said he hopes the legislators take his letter and proposed amendments into consideration.

"I think this is the time," Rogers said. "It's so important that police body cameras be made public. That's one of the most important things. You can't have oversight of police if they're hiding the video, and right now they're doing that."

Rogers, in his letter, argued that citizen video is the only reason the public knows about the deaths of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis and Walter Scott from the police shooting in North Charleston.

"You face many issues, but it is the position of the SCPA that one of the most important ones is the expeditious opening up to public view police body camera videos when violence is involved," Rogers wrote in his letter.

The proposed amendments drafted by Press Association Attorney Taylor Smith also include that body camera devices must be worn and activated when confronting citizens, and should not be de-activated until the officer has left the scene.

A Greenville News investigation found patterns of some law enforcement officers failing to activate their cameras during critical incidents including fatal shootings and other use of force cases.

"We've seen right here in Greenville instances where body camera footage was needed to complete the picture of what happened during shootings by law enforcement officers," said Steve Bruss, executive editor of The Greenville News, Anderson Independent Mail and Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "Yes, some agencies such as the Greenville County Sheriff's Office have shared the footage well after an incident has occurred. But for the protection of both the public and the law enforcement officers who work to protect them it's imperative this footage be readily available to the people as a public record."

The Press Association proposal also includes language that footage may not be withheld from the public on the basis that it was compiled for law enforcement purposes or for an investigatory record.

Tuesday's hearing will include presentations from:

  • State Law Enforcement Division Chief Chief Mark Keel
  • South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy Director Jackie Swindler
  • South Carolina Department of Public Safety Chief of Staff Michael Oliver
  • South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Jarrod Bruder
  • South Carolina Police Chiefs Association and Aiken Department of Public Safety Chief Charles Barranco
  • Palmetto State Law Enforcement Officers Association chapter president and Greenville County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Natalie Hill
  • Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott
  • Williamston Police Chief Tony Taylor
  • North Charleston Police Chief Reggie Burgess

The subcommittee members are Rep. Chandra Dillard (D-Greenville), Rep. Shannon Erickson (R-Beaufort), Rep. Ivory Thigpen (D-Richland) and Rep. Chris Wooten (R-Lexington).

A live broadcast can be found here.

Daniel J. Gross is an investigative watchdog reporter focusing on public safety and law enforcement for The Greenville News. Reach him at dgross@greenvillenews.com or on Twitter @danieljgross.