2021 Colorado Code
Title 24 - Government - State
Article 31 - Department of Law
Part 9 - Law Enforcement Integrity
§ 24-31-902. Incident Recordings - Release - Tampering - Fine

[Editor's note: This section is effective July 1, 2023.]

1. 1. 1. By July 1, 2023, all local law enforcement agencies in the state and the Colorado state patrol shall provide body-worn cameras for each peace officer of the law enforcement agency who interacts with members of the public. Law enforcement agencies may seek funding pursuant to section 24-33.5-519. (1) (a) (I) By July 1, 2023, all local law enforcement agencies in the state and the Colorado state patrol shall provide body-worn cameras for each peace officer of the law enforcement agency who interacts with members of the public. Law enforcement agencies may seek funding pursuant to section 24-33.5-519.
      2. (A) Except as provided in subsection (1)(a)(II)(B) or (1)(a)(II)(C) of this section, a peace officer shall wear and activate a body-worn camera or dash camera, if the peace officer's vehicle is equipped with a dash camera, when responding to a call for service or during any interaction with the public initiated by the peace officer, whether consensual or nonconsensual, for the purpose of enforcing the law or investigating possible violations of the law.
      3. If a peace officer fails to activate a body-worn camera or dash camera as required by this section or tampers with body-worn- or dash-camera footage or operation when required to activate the camera, there is a permissive inference in any investigation or legal proceeding, excluding criminal proceedings against the peace officer, that the missing footage would have reflected misconduct by the peace officer. If a peace officer fails to activate or reactivate his or her body-worn camera as required by this section or tampers with body-worn or dash camera footage or operation when required to activate the camera, any statements sought to be introduced in a prosecution through the peace officer related to the incident that were not recorded due to the peace officer's failure to activate or reactivate the body-worn camera as required by this section or if the statement was not recorded by other means creates a rebuttable presumption of inadmissibility. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this subsection (1)(a)(III) does not apply if the body-worn camera was not activated due to a malfunction of the body-worn camera and the peace officer was not aware of the malfunction, or was unable to rectify it, prior to the incident, provided that the law enforcement agency's documentation shows the peace officer checked the functionality of the body-worn camera at the beginning of his or her shift.
      4. (A) In addition to any criminal liability and penalty under the law, if a court, administrative law judge, hearing officer, or a final decision in an internal investigation finds that a peace officer intentionally failed to activate a body-worn camera or dash camera or tampered with any body-worn or dash camera, except as permitted in this section, the peace officer's employer shall impose discipline up to and including termination, to the extent permitted by applicable constitutional and statutory personnel laws and case law.

   2. A local law enforcement agency and the Colorado state patrol shall establish and follow a retention schedule for body-worn camera recordings in compliance with Colorado state archives rules and direction.

2. 1. For all incidents in which there is a complaint of peace officer misconduct by another peace officer, a civilian, or nonprofit organization, through notice to the law enforcement agency involved in the alleged misconduct, the local law enforcement agency or the Colorado state patrol shall release all unedited video and audio recordings of the incident, including those from body-worn cameras, dash cameras, or otherwise collected through investigation, to the public within twenty-one days after the local law enforcement agency or the Colorado state patrol received the complaint of misconduct. (2) (a) For all incidents in which there is a complaint of peace officer misconduct by another peace officer, a civilian, or nonprofit organization, through notice to the law enforcement agency involved in the alleged misconduct, the local law enforcement agency or the Colorado state patrol shall release all unedited video and audio recordings of the incident, including those from body-worn cameras, dash cameras, or otherwise collected through investigation, to the public within twenty-one days after the local law enforcement agency or the Colorado state patrol received the complaint of misconduct.
   2. 1. All video and audio recordings depicting a death must be provided upon request to the victim's spouse, parent, legal guardian, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, significant other, or other lawful representative, and such person shall be notified of his or her right, pursuant to section 24-4.1-302.5 (1)(j.8), to receive and review the recording at least seventy-two hours prior to public disclosure. A person seventeen years of age and under is considered incapacitated, unless legally emancipated. (b) (I) All video and audio recordings depicting a death must be provided upon request to the victim's spouse, parent, legal guardian, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, significant other, or other lawful representative, and such person shall be notified of his or her right, pursuant to section 24-4.1-302.5 (1)(j.8), to receive and review the recording at least seventy-two hours prior to public disclosure. A person seventeen years of age and under is considered incapacitated, unless legally emancipated.
      2. (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any video that raises substantial privacy concerns for criminal defendants, victims, witnesses, juveniles, or informants, including video depicting nudity; a sexual assault; a medical emergency; private medical information; a mental health crisis; a victim interview; a minor, including any images or information that might undermine the requirement to keep certain juvenile records confidential; any personal information other than the name of any person not arrested, cited, charged, or issued a written warning, including a government-issued identification number, date of birth, address, or financial information; significantly explicit and gruesome bodily injury, unless the injury was caused by a peace officer; or the interior of a home or treatment facility, shall be redacted or blurred to protect the substantial privacy interest while still allowing public release. Unredacted footage shall not be released without the written authorization of the victim or, if the victim is deceased or incapacitated, the written authorization of the victim's next of kin. A person seventeen years of age and under is considered incapacitated, unless legally emancipated.
      3. Any video that would substantially interfere with or jeopardize an active or ongoing investigation may be withheld from the public; except that the video shall be released no later than forty-five days from the date of the allegation of misconduct. In all cases when release of a video is delayed in reliance on this subsection (2)(b)(III), the prosecuting attorney shall prepare a written explanation of the interference or jeopardy that justifies the delayed release, contemporaneous with the refusal to release the video. Upon release of the video, the prosecuting attorney shall release the written explanation to the public.

   3. If criminal charges have been filed against any party to the incident, that party must file any constitutional objection to release of the recording in the pending criminal case before the twenty-one-day period expires. Only in cases in which there is a pending criminal investigation or prosecution of a party to the incident, the twenty-one-day period shall begin from the date of appointment of counsel, the filing of an entry of appearance by counsel, or the election to proceed pro se by the defendant in the criminal prosecution made on the record before a judge. If the defendant elects to proceed pro se in the criminal case, the court shall advise the defendant of the twenty-one-day deadline for the defendant to file any constitutional objection to release of the recording in the pending criminal case as part of the court's advisement. The court shall hold a hearing on any objection no later than seven days after it is filed and issue a ruling no later than three days after the hearing.

Source: L. 2020: Entire part added, (SB 20-217), ch. 110, p. 446, § 2, effective July 1, 2023.