A measure that would set comprehensive statewide rules for police body camera won final legislative approval Saturday and was sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The measure, SB1304, passed by the Illinois Senate on Saturday doesn’t require police officers to wear body cameras, but it sets clear standards for those departments that use the cameras.
Bill sponsor state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, said Saturday the cameras can be used both as a tool for officers to explain controversial arrests and shootings and for suspects who claim police abuse.
“This is not a mandate,” Raoul said. “For the departments that do choose to use them, it establishes minimal standards for their use.”
The bipartisan legislation — which details when the police would have to turn the cameras on and how long videos taken with them must be kept — won the support of the American Civil Liberties Union, among other groups.
If Rauner signs the legislation, Illinois would be the first state to approve the recommendations of a presidential task force following a series of high-profile deaths of people involved in incidents with police across the country, spurring widespread protests.
It also includes provisions that would require independent review of officer-involved deaths as well as banning the controversial practice by police of using choke-holds on suspects.
