(1) As used in this section:
(a) “Body-worn camera” means a video or audio electronic recording device that is carried by or worn on the body of a public safety officer. This definition does not include a dashboard mounted camera or recording device used in the course of clandestine investigations;
(b) “Body-worn camera recording” or “recording” means a video or audio recording, or both, that is made by a body-worn camera during the course of a public safety officer’s official duties;
(c) “Personal representative” means a court-appointed guardian, attorney, or agent possessing written authorization to act on behalf of a person that is involved in an incident contained in a body-worn camera recording, a person holding a power of attorney for a person that is involved in an incident contained in a body-worn camera recording, or the parent or guardian of a minor child depicted in a body-worn camera recording. If a person depicted in the recording is deceased, the term also means the personal representative of the estate of the deceased person, the deceased person’s surviving spouse, parent, or adult child, the deceased person’s attorney, or the parent or guardian of a surviving minor child of the deceased;
(d) “Public agency” has the same meaning as in KRS § 61.870(1);
(e) “Public safety officer” means any individual that is an employee of a public agency who is certified as a first responder under KRS Chapter 311A or whose employment duties include law enforcement or firefighting activities; and
(f) “Use of force” means any action by a public safety officer that results in death, physical injury as defined in KRS § 500.080, discharge of a personal body weapon, chemical agent, impact weapon, extended range impact weapon, sonic weapon, sensory weapon, conducted energy weapon, or a firearm, or involves the intentional pointing of a public safety officer’s firearm at a member of the public.
(2) Except as provided in this section, the disclosure of body-worn camera recordings shall be governed by the Kentucky Open Records Act, as set forth in KRS § 61.870 to
61.884.
(3) The retention of body-worn camera video recordings shall be governed by KRS
171.410 to 171.740, and the administrative regulations promulgated by the
Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
(4) Notwithstanding KRS § 61.878(4), unless the request meets the criteria provided under subsection (5) of this section, a public agency may elect not to disclose body- worn camera recordings containing video or audio footage that:
(a) Includes the interior of a place of a private residence where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, unless the legal owner or lessee with legal
possession of the residence requests in writing that the release be governed solely under the provisions of KRS § 61.870 to KRS § 61.884;
(b) Includes the areas inside of a medical facility, counseling, or therapeutic program office where a patient is registered to receive treatment, receiving treatment, waiting for treatment, or being transported in the course of treatment;
(c) Would disclose health care information shared with patients, their families, or with a patient’s care team or that is considered protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996;
(d) Includes the areas inside of a correctional facility when disclosure would reveal details of the facility that would jeopardize the safety, security, or well- being of those in custody, the staff of the correctional facility, or law enforcement officers;
(e) Is of a sexual nature or video footage that contains nude images of an individual’s genitals, pubic area, anus, or the female nipple;
(f) Is of a minor child, including but not limited to footage involving juvenile custody matters;
(g) Includes the body of a deceased individual;
(h) Would reveal the identity of witnesses, confidential law enforcement informants, or undercover law enforcement officers, or if the release could jeopardize the safety, security, or well-being of a witness or confidential informant;
(i) Would reveal the location information of a domestic violence program or emergency shelter;
(j) Would reveal information related to schools, colleges, and universities that is protected by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act;
(k) Would result in the disclosure of nonpublic or confidential data classified as Criminal Justice Information Services data by the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(l) Includes a public safety officer carrying out duties directly related to the hospitalization of persons considered mentally ill;
(m) Includes the depiction of the serious injury or death of a public safety officer;
or
(n) Includes footage made in conjunction with a law enforcement exercise that includes special response team actions, hostage negotiations, or training events, but only where the public release of tactics, operational protocol, or methodology would disadvantage the capability of public safety officers to successfully respond in emergency or other dangerous situations.
(5) If the recording contains video or audio footage that:
(a) Depicts an encounter between a public safety officer where there is a use of force, the disclosure of the record shall be governed solely by the provisions of KRS § 61.870 to KRS § 61.884, including all of the exceptions contained therein;
(b) Depicts an incident which leads to the detention or arrest of an individual or individuals, the disclosure of the record shall be governed solely by the provisions of KRS § 61.870 to KRS § 61.884, including all of the exceptions contained therein;
(c) Depicts an incident which is the subject of a formal complaint submitted against a public safety officer under KRS § 15.520, 67C.326, or 95.450, or depicts an incident which is the subject of a formal legal or administrative complaint against the agency employing the public safety officer, the release of the record shall be governed by the provisions of KRS § 61.870 to KRS § 61.884, including all of the exceptions contained therein; or
(d) Is requested by a person or other entity or the personal representative of a person or entity that is directly involved in the incident contained in the body- worn camera recording, it shall be made available by the public agency to the requesting party for viewing on the premises of the public agency, but the public agency shall not be required to make a copy of the recording except as provided in KRS § 61.169. The requesting parties shall not be limited in the number of times they may view the recording under this paragraph.
(6) Nothing in this section or KRS § 61.169 shall be interpreted to override any provision related to:
(a) Reports by law enforcement officers and criminal justice agencies under KRS
17.150;
(b) The law and rules governing discovery or the submission and display of evidence in any court proceeding, whether criminal or civil, or any administrative proceeding; or
(c) The provisions of KRS § 189A.100.
Effective: July 14, 2022
History: Amended 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 151, sec. 17, effective July 14, 2022; and ch. 236, sec. 20, effective July 1, 2022. — Created 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 139, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2018.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/2022). This statute was amended by 2022
Ky. Acts chs. 151 and 236, which do not appear to be in conflict and have been codified together.