Area Legislators Split on Permitting Police Review of Body Cams

The New Jersey legislature in a bi-partisan manner, struck a fair and balanced approach between policing and community concerns. In previous legislation, the new mandate required police officers to wear body worn cameras, which also prohibited them from reviewing their camera images when writing their reports.

This obviously made no sense, and could play in the hands of overzealous prosecutors claiming an officer omitted critical information prompting charges of "false swearing," or other charges of deception. Furthermore, a police officer finishing the weekend with multiple DUI and narcotics arrests may inadvertently blur one situation with another similar situation.

A-5864 permits officers to review their body worn cameras ensuring nothing critical is left out of the report--or added to the report. An officer is just as fallible as everyone else. However, unlike everyone else, an officer must testify under oath as to the accuracy and completeness to what they observed; what was said to them, and other pertinent facts to the case--otherwise risk the wrath of career ending accusations.

The Bill was passed on June 24, 2021. It was passed in a bi-partisan fashion with 102 legislators voting 'YES,' and 2 voting 'NO.' (See above picture for vote)

LD-13 Assembly members Gerry Scharfenberger and Serena DiMaso both voted 'Yes.' State Senator Declan O'Scanlon inexplicably voted 'NO' on June 21, in the Senate's Law and Public Safety Committee, and refused to vote in the general session on June 24th.

This is not the first time Senator O'Scanlon has failed to support law enforcement. On February 13, 2017, then assemblyman, Declan O'Scanlon, was just one of four legislators voting against setting up a compensation program for the state's correctional police officers assaulted and disabled by crimes committed against them from convicted and incarcerated prisoners.