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Scott Agrees To Narrow Police Video Exemption

WFSU | By Jim Ash
Published April 8, 2016 at 4:09 PM EDT
The public will have easier access to police video under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Rick Scott.
The public will have easier access to police video under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Rick Scott.

The public will have easier access to controversial police videos thanks to a bill Governor Rick Scott signed into law Friday.

The public will have easier access to police video under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Rick Scott.
The public will have easier access to police video under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Rick Scott.

Lawmakers in 2011 shielded videos depicting the deaths of law enforcement officers following a tragedy in Tampa.  

Critics say the public records exemption was overly broad. The change narrows the exemption to active duty law enforcement, says Republican Senator Rob Bradley of Fleming Island.

“It’s a balance between what were the original concerns but more narrowly tailoring it to those original concerns rather than what I would personally consider an overly broad public records exemption.”

Sponsors have been trying to narrow the exemption for the past several years.

The Police Benevolent Association and the First Amendment Foundation supported the compromise.

Copyright 2020 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU.

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GovernmentBody CamerasPolicePublic RecordsLocal
Jim Ash
Jim Ash is a reporter at WFSU-FM. A Miami native, he is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.
See stories by Jim Ash
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