Summary#

SB 26-190, Release Information About Peace Officer Use of Force, is enacted. It amends Colorado law on incident recordings and victim rights, replaces the existing part on peace-officer use-of-force investigations, and changes the rule for district attorney reports when no criminal charges are filed. Its stated goal is greater transparency after a peace officer’s use of force causes a death.

• For deaths, the employing law enforcement agency must make reasonable efforts to identify the deceased person’s immediate family. Family members and a person they designate can request recordings depicting the death within 21 days, unless they decline.
• Any person can request unedited recordings of a death-related incident involving a complaint of officer misconduct. The agency must release them after the 21-day period; family members must be notified at least 72 hours before public disclosure of their right to receive and review the recording.
• After the internal investigation and appeals, multi-agency investigation and required report, and any criminal case and appeals are complete, the recordings depicting the death must be released to immediate family and their designee upon request.
• Police departments, sheriff’s offices, and district attorneys must maintain and publish protocols for multi-agency investigations of officer firearm discharges causing injury or death, and other uses of force causing death. A team must include at least one other police department or sheriff’s office, or the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
• The agency or investigation team must notify known immediate family members and their designee about the investigation within 24 hours after the scene is cleared, including the team’s agencies and the investigation’s status.
• The bill limits certain public statements by officers involved in investigating a death, and sets rules for videos used in community or critical-incident briefings.

What it means for you#

• Immediate family and their designee: They can request recordings depicting the death within 21 days. They must be told about the investigation within 24 hours after the scene is cleared and, at least 72 hours before public disclosure, about their right to receive and review a recording. “Immediate family” includes a spouse, children, parents, siblings, legal guardian, significant other, or lawful representative.
• People requesting recordings: For a death-related incident, any person may request unedited video and audio recordings if there is a complaint of officer misconduct arising from the use of force. The agency must release them after the 21-day period. The bill does not set out a request form or other detailed process.
• Police, sheriff’s offices, and district attorneys: They must maintain investigation protocols. Agencies must make those protocols public on a website or provide them upon request if they have no website.
• Officers involved in an investigation: They must not make certain public statements on behalf of an agency if they know, or reasonably should know, the statement could materially prejudice a criminal proceeding. The bill identifies statements presumed to create that risk, while allowing specified kinds of information to be shared.
• People shown in briefing videos: A video must say if it was modified. Narration and text must stick to facts known at the time and cannot include editorial opinion or legal conclusions. Enhancements and privacy blurring must be apparent or disclosed.

Money#

No cost information is in the available material.

• The bill requires agencies to maintain and publish protocols and to identify and notify family members, but gives no staffing or cost estimate.
• No new tax, fee, fine, or benefit is specified.

What is unclear#

• The bill does not set out how agencies must handle recording requests, including how to resolve disputes or what exceptions may apply beyond the provisions it references.
• It does not define every term that may affect who qualifies as a family member. For example, “significant other” is defined by reference to a family-type living arrangement.
• The bill does not specify how agencies must identify family members, or how a family designates another person to receive recordings.
• The bill does not explain how the new investigation rules interact with other existing investigation processes.

Case for#

• The bill appears intended to address families’ need for timely information and public interest in deaths caused by police use of force.
• Giving family members an opportunity to receive and review recordings before public disclosure recognizes their specific interest in the material.
• Requiring public investigation protocols and prompt family notification could make the investigation process more understandable.
• Limits on potentially prejudicial statements, along with rules for briefing videos, could help separate factual updates from opinion while a case is ongoing.

Case against#

• Public release can occur after 21 days, while an investigation or criminal case may still be underway. That could raise concerns about privacy or the effect of disclosure on a proceeding.
• The bill requires agencies to identify family members and provide notice, but does not spell out how to handle difficult identification or notification cases.
• The bill adds duties for law enforcement agencies and district attorneys without specifying funding or staffing.
• The limits on public statements include exceptions for many kinds of information. How those exceptions apply in practice is not explained in the bill.