(A) Definitions. For purposes of this section the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY.
(a) A traffic stop;
(b) A pedestrian stop;
(c) An arrest;
(d) A search;
(e) An investigation;
(f) A pursuit;
(g) Crowd control;
(h) Traffic control; or
(i) Any other instance in which a law enforcement officer is enforcing the law.
The term LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY does not include an administrative activity, including the completion of paperwork related to a law enforcement activity or a custodial interrogation conducted in a place of detention as described in Indiana Evidence Rule 617, regardless of the ultimate admissibility of a statement made during the custodial interrogation.
LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDING. An audio, visual or audiovisual recording of a law enforcement activity captured by a camera or other device that is:
(a) Provided to or used by a law enforcement officer in the scope of the officer's duties; and
(b) Designed to be worn by a law enforcement officer or attached to the vehicle or transportation of a law enforcement officer.
(B) Law enforcement recordings. Should the Police Chief decide to require the use of Department-issued body cameras, in his sole and absolute discretion, any law enforcement recording, for which disclosure is not otherwise prohibited pursuant to state or federal law or any duly enacted ordinance by the town, is subject to inspection during the regular business hours of the Police Department, if a formal request is made and said request:
(1) Identifies with reasonable particularity the record being requested.
(a) A request identifies a law enforcement with reasonable particularity only if it includes:
1. The date and approximate time of the law enforcement activity;
2. The specific location where the law enforcement activity occurred;
3. The name of at least one individual other than the law enforcement officer who was directly involved in the law enforcement activity.
(b) Is in writing on a form provided by the Police Department.
(C) Time frame for inspection. Within 21 days following a formal request being made the town shall either:
(1) Provide the requested copies of the law enforcement recording to the person making the request; or
(2) Allow the person to make copies:
(a) On the agency's equipment; or
(b) On the person's own equipment.
(D) Exceptions to disclosure.
(1) Notwithstanding anything else set forth in this section, all of those exceptions stated in I.C. 5-14-3-4 or elsewhere provided under state and federal law, apply to any disclosure requested under this section.
(2) Before disclosing any law enforcement recording, the agency must comply with the obscuring requirements as set forth in I.C. 5-14-3 et seq.
(E) Retention of unobscured recording. The agency shall retain an unaltered, unobscured law enforcement recording for at least 190 days after the date of recording, pursuant to I.C. 5-14-3-5.3, subject to those exceptions set forth in I.C. 5-14-3-5.3(c) and (d).
(F) Required fee. The fee for the agency providing a duplicate of a law enforcement recording shall be $150. The fee collected under the division (F) for the copying of a law enforcement recording shall be:
(1) Payable to the Clerk-Treasurer's office and used without appropriation for one or more of the following purposes:
(a) To purchase cameras and other equipment for use in connection with the agency's law enforcement recording program;
(b) For training concerning law enforcement recording;
(c) To defray the expenses of storing, producing and copying law enforcement recordings.
(2) Money from a fee described in this section does not revert to the local general fund at the end of the fiscal year.
(Ord. 20 of 2019, passed 11-18-2019; Am. Ord. 16 of 2021, passed 10-11-2021)