Rep. David Friess | Facebook
Rep. David Friess | Facebook
Apart from the dangers that most Republicans perceive in House Bill 3653 — the police reform bill — Rep. David Friess raises concerns about its effect on municipal budgets.
Friess said that police officers are not concerned with being required to wear body cameras but he is worried about the extra costs that come with the unfunded mandate.
Police departments or their municipalities would have to pay for the body cameras and accompanying software from their own budgets. It would be likely that police departments would have to hire staff to manage the software and footage, an extra cost they may not be able to afford.
Freiss also said that the bill will put officers in a terrible situation if not given an opportunity to review the footage before generating a report. If the officer's report doesn't match events in the video, an officer could be subject to disciplinary action or termination.
“That is completely unacceptable,” Friess said. “There is no reason why a police officer cannot and should not be able to review footage from the body camera before generating a report.”
Freiss stressed that the unfunded mandate will put an additional burden on small municipalities and for this, he recommends that Gov. J.B. Pritzker veto the bill.
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