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Committee narrows public posting requirement for officer‑involved death videos, approves referral
Summary
The committee adopted an amendment limiting required public posting to the portions of video that document events leading up to and including an officer‑involved death, and re‑referred House File 1354 to the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee.
The Judiciary Finance and CIPA Committee on Tuesday adopted an amendment and re‑referred House File 1354, which modifies how the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) posts materials from officer‑involved death investigations.
Representative Mohler moved the DE1 amendment, which she said reflects a Senate change the authors accept. In explaining the bill, Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, told the committee that the office supports transparency but that the existing posting requirement has created an operational burden due to “extraneous video.”
“We support in the interest of transparency and the public interest in officer involved death investigations that all of the information get posted on our website,” Evans said. He described the proposed change as limiting the 30‑day posting requirement to “those circumstances surrounding the events leading up to it, the actual use of force, and then a short period after” when medical attention is provided. Other materials would remain available through data‑practice requests; the amendment also clarifies that nothing in the bill “is circumventing chapter 13 or the Minnesota Data Practices Act.”
Rich Neumeister, a privacy and open‑records practitioner, testified in support and called the language a clarity improvement that preserves public access. Representative Frazier thanked the BCA for its willingness to work with stakeholders on the issue.
The committee adopted the DE1 amendment by voice vote and re‑referred the bill to the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee as amended.
