HB 1258, HCA 1 -- LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDS

SPONSOR:  Hosmer

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Public
Safety, Law Enforcement and Veteran Affairs by a vote of 19 to 0.

This bill prohibits release of the names of law enforcement
officers who are involved in incident reports or investigations
when no formal disciplinary action or charges are filed.

HCA 1 -- Allows officers to obtain copies of incident or
investigative reports if they are the subject of the report.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that currently the names of officers
involved in an incident report or being investigated can be made
public before the final adjudication of the issue.  Officers are
cleared in the majority of cases but still have their names
linked to the accusation and can suffer damage to their
reputation.  Supporters are not asking for the records of
incident or investigative reports to be closed, but only that the
officer's name be withheld from release.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Hosmer; Springfield
Police Officers Association; Missouri Fraternal Order of Police;
Missouri Chiefs of Police; and Missouri Sheriffs Association.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that the bill will
impede free speech and that the public has a right to know the
names of the officers being investigated or named in incident
reports.

Testifying against the bill was the Missouri Press Association.

Dana Estes, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:00 am