Victims' families will see police body cam footage under bill passed by Kansas Senate

The Kansas Senate passed a bill Thursday that would require law enforcement to turn over body camera footage to victims' families or their representatives within 20 days of a request.

Sen. Rick Wilborn, a McPherson Republican who leads the Senate judiciary committee, said the bill is a big step, "but it is just a first step."

The measure is not as strong as some had wanted after language requiring public release of the footage was removed.

"This is a baby step toward moving toward transparency, better accountability," Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City, Kan., Democrat, said during a debate this week.

The part of the bill calling for public release will likely be reviewed over the summer.

Under current Kansas law, police departments can decide whether they want to publicly release footage by citing discretionary exemptions in the state's open records law. Some never release the footage publicly; others do so quickly.

The family of Antonio Garcia Jr., who was shot and killed by a Leavenworth police officer in July, say loved ones need to see the footage.

"Right now, police are acting like they don't have to answer to anyone," said Tracy Ludeman, whose sister raised Garcia, 47, like a son when he moved to the area as a teenager. "They are acting like they are above the law that they are sworn to uphold and that's not right by any means. They are not above the law."

The family still has not seen any footage of the shooting.

"We still don't know what happened," Ludeman said Thursday. "It would give us some kind of closure, because we think he (the officer) acted prematurely."

The House last month approved by a 117-0 vote the slimmed-down version of the legislation, which cleared the Senate on a 40-0 vote Thursday.

Because the Senate made tweaks to the bill, it now has to go back to the House before it can be sent to the governor.

The House changed the bill after it was opposed by law enforcement during a legislative hearing.

Body cameras don't have the same perspective as the officers, a representative of the Johnson County Sheriff's Office said.

Olathe Police Chief Steven Menke said a body camera is a tool but "rarely tells the entire story."

Family members of those shot by police testified that the measures would help grieving families as well as mend trust between law enforcement and communities.

Haley said Thursday he wasn't "entirely happy with what we have in front of us."

"We need to go further, frankly," he said. "To assure law enforcement and the public that transparency is the watchword through the use of technology, electronics, body cameras."

Kansas has one of the most restrictive laws on police body cameras in the country, The Star reported in November as part of a series on secrecy in the state's government and how it permeates nearly every aspect of service.

Footage is classified as an investigative record and not subject to mandatory disclosure under the Kansas Open Records Act. While family members may eventually see what was captured on camera, the public may never have that opportunity.

Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican, said most law enforcement opposed the legislation in its original form. But she said they concurred "with this compromise."

This story was originally published March 22, 2018 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Victims' families will see police body cam footage under bill passed by Kansas Senate."