Nov 6, 2016 3 min read

An opinion from the Erie Times-News:

When those concerned about police officers’ use of force push for body cameras, we don’t recall them ever saying, “and please, make the footage secret.”

But that is what the state Senate spent some its last precious hours in session doing: advancing legislation that would throw up high, costly hurdles to members of the public wishing to view recordings of interactions between police and the public they are paid to protect and serve.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 45-5 to advance a troublesome two-pronged amendment to the state’s Wiretap Act.

One portion would overcome one concern police raise when the topic of body cameras comes up – would they violate the Wiretap Act’s prohibition of creating an audio recording of another person without his or her consent? The amendment would allow police to film in both public and private spaces and waive any requirement that they inform others that they are being recorded.

A second, more objectionable provision would seem to defeat the very purpose why so many want to see widespread implementation of police body cameras. The amendment would limit public access to the recordings.

Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf, R-Montgomery County, the prime advocate for the bill, said confoundingly it would allow police to gather crucial evidence and also hold them accountable for their behavior while encountering the public.

But under his amendment, if someone from the public wants to access the recordings, they must file a written request with the police and must know the identity of every person in the recording before viewing the recording. That requirement alone could block many from even making the request.

If the police department denies access to the footage, a citizen would have to file an appeal in court, complete with a $250 filing fee.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association have rightly come out strongly to condemn this amendment.

We join them. It appears the House of Representatives will let this offensive end run around the public die rather than become law.

Neither the Senate nor House should seek to resurrect it in the future.

That goes, as well, for a measure the House advanced that would require the names of police officers involved in incidents that cause death or injury to others be withheld for a month.

Lawmakers seeking to craft legislation to smooth the way toward widespread use of police body cameras or create a standard governing the release of information in episodes of police violence must next time also keep the public’s right to know squarely in focus.

These recent measures only seem destined to compound suspicion and division in volatile times.