Gov. Polis signs new bills that change policies on police releasing body camera footage

COLORADO (KRDO) -- Governor Jared Polis signed a new bill into law that will change the policies on police body camera laws in Colorado.

Tuesday, Polis signed House Bill 1250, the Measures to Address Law Enforcement Accountability bill.

The bill makes changes to provisions of Senate Bill 20-217, which mandated body-worn cameras for police officers and changes for deadly force standards.

With HB21-1250, officers may turn off a body-worn camera to avoid recording personal information not related to a case, when working on an unrelated assignment, during a long break, in administrative, tactical, and management discussions when civilians are not present.

Additionally, the bill requires police to release body camera footage within 21 days from the date of the request for the video recording in cases where someone has complained of officer misconduct.

That goes into effect immediately and is designed to give families of people who were injured or killed by law enforcement greater access to information about the cases.

HB21-1250 also strips the qualified immunity defense from Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Bureau of Investigation officials, who were originally exempted from a 2020 law on policing.

For more information on HB21-1250, click here.