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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6840
January Session, 2023
AN ACT EXPANDING MEMBERSHIP OF THE POLICE OFFICER
STANDARDS AND TRAINING COUNCIL, REQUIRING GUIDELINES
REGARDING BODY -WORN RECORDING EQUIPMENT AND
REQUIRING A REPORT REGARDING CONDUCT THAT UNDERMINES
PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 7-294b of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2024): 2
(a) There shall be a Police Officer Standards and Training Council 3
which shall be within the Department of Emergency Services and 4
Public Protection. [Until December 31, 2020, the council shall consist of 5
the following members appointed by the Governor: (1) A chief 6
administrative officer of a town or city in Connecticut; (2) the chief 7
elected official or chief executive officer of a town or city in 8
Connecticut with a population under twelve thousand which does not 9
have an organized police department; (3) a member of the faculty of 10
The University of Connecticut; (4) eight members of the Connecticut 11
Police Chiefs Association who are holding office or employed as chief 12
of police or the highest ranking professional police officer of an 13
organized police department of a municipality within the state; (5) the 14
Chief State's Attorney; (6) a sworn municipal police officer whose rank 15
is sergeant or lower; and (7) five public members.] 16 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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(b) [On and after January 1, 2021, the] The council shall consist of 17
the following members: 18
(1) The chief elected official or chief executive officer of a town or 19
city within the state with a population in excess of fifty thousand, 20
appointed by the Governor; 21
(2) The chief elected official or chief executive officer of a town or 22
city within the state with a population of fifty thousand or less, 23
appointed by the Governor; 24
(3) A member of the faculty of an institution of higher education in 25
the state who has a background in criminal justice studies, appointed 26
by the Governor; 27
(4) A member of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association who is 28
holding office or employed as the chief of police, the deputy chief of 29
police or a senior ranking professional police officer of an organized 30
police department of a municipality within the state with a population 31
in excess of one hundred thousand, appointed by the Governor; 32
(5) A member of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association who is 33
holding office or employed as chief of police or the highest ranking 34
professional police officer of an organized police department of a 35
municipality within the state with a population in excess of sixty 36
thousand but not exceeding one hundred thousand, appointed by the 37
Governor; 38
(6) A member of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association who is 39
holding office or employed as chief of police or the highest ranking 40
professional police officer of an organized police department of a 41
municipality within the state with a population in excess of thirty-five 42
thousand but not exceeding sixty thousand, appointed by the 43
Governor; 44
(7) A sworn municipal police officer from a municipality within the 45
state with a population exceeding fifty thousand, appointed by the 46 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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Governor; 47
(8) A sworn municipal police officer from a municipality within the 48
state with a population not exceeding fifty thousand, appointed by the 49
Governor; 50
(9) The commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police 51
Academy; 52
(10) A member of the public, who is a person with a physical 53
disability or an advocate on behalf of persons with physical 54
disabilities, appointed by the Governor; 55
(11) A victim of crime or the immediate family member of a 56
deceased victim of crime, appointed by the Governor; 57
(12) A medical professional, appointed by the Governor; 58
(13) The Chief State's Attorney; 59
(14) A member of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association or the 60
person holding office or employed as chief of police or the highest 61
ranking professional police officer of an organized police department 62
within the state, appointed by the speaker of the House of 63
Representatives; 64
(15) A member of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association or the 65
person holding office or employed as chief of police or the highest 66
ranking professional police officer of an organized police department 67
within the state, appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 68
(16) A member of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association who is 69
holding office or employed as chief of police or the highest ranking 70
professional police officer of an organized police department of a 71
municipality within the state with a population not exceeding thirty-72
five thousand, appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 73
(17) A member of the public who is a justice-impacted person, 74 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives; 75
(18) A member of the public who is a justice-impacted person, 76
appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; [and] 77
(19) A member of the public who is a person with a mental 78
disability or an advocate on behalf of persons with mental disabilities, 79
appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives; 80
(20) A sworn police officer who is not in a command position within 81
such officer's law enforcement unit, appointed by the Senate 82
chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 83
having cognizance of matters relating to public safety and security; 84
and 85
(21) A sworn police officer who is not in a command position within 86
such officer's law enforcement unit, appointed by the House 87
chairperson of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 88
having cognizance of matters relating to public safety and security. 89
(c) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection 90
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent-in-charge in 91
Connecticut or their designees shall be voting ex-officio members of 92
the council. Any member who fails to attend three consecutive 93
meetings or who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held 94
during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the 95
council. Any nonpublic member of the council shall immediately, 96
upon the termination of such member's holding the office or 97
employment that qualified such member for appointment, cease to be 98
a member of the council. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing 99
authority. A member appointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed for 100
the unexpired term of the member whom such member is to succeed in 101
the same manner as the original appointment. The Governor shall 102
appoint a chairperson and the council shall appoint a vice-chairperson 103
and a secretary from among the members. 104
(d) Membership on the council shall not constitute holding a public 105 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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office. No member of the council shall be disqualified from holding 106
any public office or employment by reason of his appointment to or 107
membership on the council nor shall any member forfeit any such 108
office or employment by reason of his appointment to the council, 109
notwithstanding the provisions of any general statute, special act or 110
local law, ordinance or charter. 111
Sec. 2. Section 29-6d of the general statutes is repealed and the 112
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 113
(a) For purposes of this section and section 7-277b: 114
(1) "Law enforcement unit" has the same meaning as provided in 115
section 7-294a; 116
(2) "Police officer" means a sworn member of a law enforcement unit 117
or any member of a law enforcement unit who performs police duties; 118
(3) "Body-worn recording equipment" means an electronic 119
recording device that is capable of recording audio and video; 120
(4) "Dashboard camera" means a dashboard camera with a remote 121
recorder, as defined in section 7-277b; 122
(5) "Digital data storage device or service" means a device or service 123
that retains the data from the recordings made by body-worn 124
recording equipment using computer data storage; and 125
(6) "Police patrol vehicle" means any state or local police vehicle 126
other than an administrative vehicle in which an occupant is wearing 127
body-worn camera equipment, a bicycle, a motor scooter, an all-terrain 128
vehicle, an electric personal assistive mobility device, as defined in 129
subsection (a) of section 14-289h, or an animal control vehicle. 130
(b) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection 131
and the Police Officer Standards and Training Council shall jointly 132
evaluate and approve the minimal technical specifications of body-133 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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worn recording equipment that shall be worn by police officers 134
pursuant to this section, dashboard cameras that shall be used in each 135
police patrol vehicle and digital data storage devices or services that 136
shall be used by a law enforcement unit to retain the data from the 137
recordings made by such equipment. The commissioner and council 138
shall make such minimal technical specifications available to each law 139
enforcement unit in a manner determined by the commissioner and 140
council. The commissioner and council may revise the minimal 141
technical specifications when the commissioner and council determine 142
that revisions to such specifications are necessary. 143
(c) (1) Each police officer shall use body-worn recording equipment 144
while interacting with the public in such sworn member's law 145
enforcement capacity, except (A) as provided in subsection (g) of this 146
section, [or] (B) in the case of a municipal police department, in 147
accordance with the department's policy adopted by the department 148
and based on guidelines maintained pursuant to subsection (j) of this 149
section, concerning the use of body-worn recording equipment, or (C) 150
in accordance with guidelines adopted pursuant to subsection (k) of 151
this section. 152
(2) Each police officer shall wear body-worn recording equipment 153
on such officer's outer-most garment and shall position such 154
equipment above the midline of such officer's torso when using such 155
equipment. 156
(3) Body-worn recording equipment used pursuant to this section 157
shall conform to the minimal technical specifications approved 158
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, except that a police officer 159
may use body-worn recording equipment that does not conform to the 160
minimal technical specifications approved pursuant to subsection (b) 161
of this section, if such equipment was purchased prior to January 1, 162
2016, by the law enforcement unit employing such officer. 163
(4) Each law enforcement unit shall require usage of a dashboard 164
camera in each police patrol vehicle used by any police officer 165 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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employed by such unit in accordance with the unit's policy adopted by 166
the unit and based on guidelines maintained pursuant to subsection (j) 167
of this section, concerning dashboard cameras. 168
(d) Except as required by state or federal law, no person employed 169
by a law enforcement unit shall edit, erase, copy, share or otherwise 170
alter or distribute in any manner any recording made by body-worn 171
recording equipment or a dashboard camera or the data from such 172
recording. 173
(e) A police officer may review a recording from his or her body-174
worn recording equipment or a dashboard camera in order to assist 175
such officer with the preparation of a report or otherwise in the 176
performance of his or her duties. 177
(f) (1) If a police officer is giving a formal statement about the use of 178
force or if a police officer is the subject of a disciplinary investigation in 179
which a recording from body-worn recording equipment or a 180
dashboard camera is being considered as part of a review of an 181
incident, the officer shall have the right to review (A) such recording in 182
the presence of the officer's attorney or labor representative, and (B) 183
recordings from other body-worn recording equipment capturing the 184
officer's image or voice during the incident. Not later than forty-eight 185
hours following an officer's review of a recording under subparagraph 186
(A) of this subdivision, or if the officer does not review the recording, 187
not later than ninety-six hours following the initiation of such 188
disciplinary investigation, whichever is earlier, such recording shall be 189
disclosed, upon request, to the public, subject to the provisions of 190
subsection (g) of this section. 191
(2) If a request is made for public disclosure of a recording from 192
body-worn recording equipment or a dashboard camera of an incident 193
about which (A) a police officer has not been asked to give a formal 194
statement about the alleged use of force, or (B) a disciplinary 195
investigation has not been initiated, any police officer whose image or 196
voice is captured on the recording shall have the right to review such 197 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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recording in the presence of the officer's attorney or labor 198
representative. Not later than forty-eight hours following an officer's 199
review of a recording under this subdivision, or if the officer does not 200
review the recording, not later than ninety-six hours following the 201
request for disclosure, whichever is earlier, such recording shall be 202
disclosed to the public, subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of 203
this section. 204
(g) (1) Except as otherwise provided by any agreement between a 205
law enforcement unit and the federal government, no police officer 206
shall use body-worn recording equipment or a dashboard camera, if 207
applicable, to intentionally record (A) a communication with other law 208
enforcement unit personnel, except that which may be recorded as the 209
officer performs his or her duties, (B) an encounter with an undercover 210
officer or informant or an officer performing detective work described 211
in guidelines developed pursuant to subsection (j) of this section, (C) 212
when an officer is on break or is otherwise engaged in a personal 213
activity, (D) a person undergoing a medical or psychological 214
evaluation, procedure or treatment, (E) any person other than a 215
suspect to a crime if an officer is wearing such equipment in a hospital 216
or other medical facility setting, or (F) in a mental health facility, unless 217
responding to a call involving a suspect to a crime who is thought to 218
be present in the facility. 219
(2) No record created using body-worn recording equipment or a 220
dashboard camera of (A) an occurrence or situation described in 221
subparagraphs (A) to (F), inclusive, of subdivision (1) of this 222
subsection, (B) a scene of an incident that involves (i) a victim of 223
domestic or sexual abuse, (ii) a victim of homicide or suicide, or (iii) a 224
deceased victim of an accident, if disclosure could reasonably be 225
expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy in 226
the case of any such victim described in this subparagraph, or (C) a 227
minor, shall be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information 228
Act, as defined in section 1-200, and any such record shall be 229
confidential, except that a record of a minor shall be disclosed if (i) the 230 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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minor and the parent or guardian of such minor consent to the 231
disclosure of such record, (ii) a police officer is the subject of an 232
allegation of misconduct made by such minor or the parent or 233
guardian of such minor, and the person representing such officer in an 234
investigation of such alleged misconduct requests disclosure of such 235
record for the sole purpose of preparing a defense to such allegation, 236
or (iii) a person is charged with a crime and defense counsel for such 237
person requests disclosure of such record for the sole purpose of 238
assisting in such person's defense and the discovery of such record as 239
evidence is otherwise discoverable. 240
(h) No police officer shall use body-worn recording equipment prior 241
to being trained in accordance with section 7-294s in the use of such 242
equipment and in the retention of data created by such equipment. A 243
law enforcement unit shall ensure that each police officer such unit 244
employs receives such training at least annually and is trained on the 245
proper care and maintenance of such equipment. 246
(i) If a police officer is aware that any body-worn recording 247
equipment or dashboard camera is lost, damaged or malfunctioning, 248
such officer shall inform such officer's supervisor in writing as soon as 249
is practicable. Upon receiving such information, the supervisor shall 250
ensure that the body-worn recording equipment or dashboard camera 251
is inspected and repaired or replaced, as necessary. Each police officer 252
shall inspect and test body-worn recording equipment prior to each 253
shift to verify proper functioning, and shall notify such officer's 254
supervisor of any problems with such equipment. 255
(j) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection 256
and the Police Officer Standards and Training Council shall jointly 257
maintain guidelines pertaining to the use of body-worn recording 258
equipment and dashboard cameras, including the type of detective 259
work an officer might engage in that should not be recorded, retention 260
of data created by such equipment and dashboard cameras and 261
methods for safe and secure storage of such data. The guidelines shall 262
not require a law enforcement unit to store such data for a period 263 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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longer than one year, except in the case where the unit knows the data 264
is pertinent to any ongoing civil, criminal or administrative matter. 265
Each law enforcement unit and any police officer and any other 266
employee of such unit who may have access to such data shall adhere 267
to such guidelines. The commissioner and council may update and 268
reissue such guidelines, as the commissioner and council determine 269
necessary. The commissioner and council shall, upon issuance of such 270
guidelines or any update to such guidelines, submit such guidelines in 271
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a to the joint standing 272
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 273
relating to the judiciary and public safety and security. 274
(k) Not later than October 1, 2023, the Commissioner of Emergency 275
Services and Public Protection and the Police Officer Standards and 276
Training Council shall jointly adopt guidelines regarding the exigent 277
circumstances under which a police officer may interact with the 278
public without using body-worn recording equipment, such as when 279
an officer responds to an incident while off duty or when body-worn 280
recording equipment is not available to the officer. The commissioner 281
and council may update and reissue such guidelines, as the 282
commissioner and council determine necessary. The commissioner and 283
council shall, upon issuance of such guidelines or any update to such 284
guidelines, submit such guidelines in accordance with the provisions 285
of section 11-4a to the joint standing committees of the General 286
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary and 287
public safety and security. 288
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) Not later than January 1 2024, the 289
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and Police 290
Officer Standards and Training Council shall report, in accordance 291
with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 292
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 293
matters relating to public safety and security, on: 294
(1) Whether the council has cancelled or revoked the certification of 295
a police officer for conduct that undermines public confidence in law 296 Substitute Bill No. 6840
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enforcement pursuant to subparagraph (I) of subdivision (2) of 297
subsection (d) of section 7-294d of the general statutes and an 298
explanation of the circumstances related to each such cancellation or 299
revocation; 300
(2) Whether the council has considered but declined to cancel or 301
revoke a police officer's certification for such conduct and the 302
circumstances related to each such instance; 303
(3) Whether the provisions of subparagraph (I) of subdivision (2) of 304
subsection (d) of section 7-294d of the general statutes and guidance 305
issued pursuant to subsection (g) of said section, provide sufficient 306
guidelines to police officers and law enforcement units regarding the 307
types of conduct that undermine public confidence in law 308
enforcement, and the disciplinary actions that should be taken in 309
response to different types of such conduct; and 310
(4) Any recommendations for revisions to subparagraph (I) of 311
subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of section 7-294d of the general 312
statutes or guidance issued pursuant to subsection (g) of said section. 313
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 January 1, 2024 7-294b
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 29-6d
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
Section 1 was rewritten and the effective date changed for consistency
with standard drafting conventions; in Section 2, the effective date was
changed to "July 1, 2023" for internal consistency; and in Section 2(j)
and (k), "public safety" was changed to "public safety and security" for
consistency with standard drafting conventions.
PS Joint Favorable Subst.