Rep. Reginald Bolding, D-Phoenix (District 27), responding to community concerns, introduced a bill meant to increase trust and collaboration between law enforcement agencies and community members.
The Arizona Police Association and the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association have drafted legislation mandating that law enforcement agencies at all levels throughout the state wait 90 days before releasing the name of an officer involved in a “deadly force incident,” according to the Yellow Sheet. “That includes any instance in which an officer fires a weapon, regardless of whether a suspect or victim is uninjured, harmed or killed,” reports the Yellow Sheet.
The Yellow Sheet spoke to Michael Williams, a lobbyist for the unions. Williams told the Yellow Sheet that an officer’s name would eventually become part of the public record. But in the interest of the officer’s safety, a 90-day wait would provide a cooling-off period. “There would be a certain period of time when the officer’s name would not be released, so especially if it’s an emotionally charged issue, there’d be a little cooling-off period,” Williams told the Yellow Sheet.
Just this month, footage from a fallen Michael Williams showed his brutal murder while on a domestic violence call.
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Bolding is basing his body camera bill on “many conversations with people in my district who are concerned about the number of police-involved shootings across the country and in Arizona.” Bolding said in a statement released this week, “And I have talked to law enforcement officers who want the public to be more engaged in protecting their communities. I’ve introduced two bills that should help foster a stronger working relationship between our neighborhoods and our law enforcement agencies.”
HB 2511 requires local and state law enforcement officers to wear body cameras while on duty, to ensure both their own safety and the safety of the communities they protect. It would also establish a study committee for law enforcement officer body cameras. HB 2512 would require an external review of any fatal officer-involved shootings. A law enforcement officer who is not from the same agency as the officer involved in a fatal shooting or a county attorney from another county would conduct the investigation. The investigator would be required to submit the report to the county attorney in the county in which the fatal shooting occurred. This investigation would supplement the internal investigation conducted by the officer’s own agency.
According to Bolding, the bills have earned the support of organizations including The National Bar Association, Black Lives Matter, Promise Arizona and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
“This is an issue that is very important to the NAACP, and we applaud Rep. Bolding for introducing these bills,” State of Arizona NAACP President Charles Fanniel said. “This is a top priority for our organization.”
Bolding added that these bills would provide mutual protections for both community members and law enforcement officers. He also said law enforcement agents in some Arizona cities and in at least five other states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Florida, are using body cameras.
“These bills are designed to increase transparency and build more trust within the community,” Bolding said. “The practice of wearing body cameras and requiring external reviews of officer-involved shootings directly speaks to the safety and accountability needs of both community members and law enforcement officers.”