Police from across Wisconsin supported a bill Thursday that would set state policy for when body camera video can be made public and would allow for much of the footage to be withheld.
Bill sponsor Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, said at an Assembly committee hearing that the goal was to protect the privacy of people captured on police body camera footage and to set statewide guidelines for law enforcement agencies.
But advocates for open records argued that the measure went too far and would make it difficult, if not impossible, for footage that’s in the public interest to be released. The bill would not require police departments to use body cameras