1     
PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER PRIVACY AMENDMENTS

2     
2017 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Mike K. McKell

5     
Senate Sponsor: ____________

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill shields the name of a law enforcement officer who is involved in a critical
10     incident for up to 180 days.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     requires that the name of a law enforcement officer involved in a critical incident be
14     kept private until the end of the investigation;
15          ▸     further requires that the officer's name be released if the officer is charged with a
16     crime at the end of the investigation; and
17          ▸     provides that the officer's name shall be released not later than six months after an
18     incident.
19     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
20          None
21     Other Special Clauses:
22          None
23     Utah Code Sections Affected:
24     AMENDS:
25          76-2-408, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 178
26     

27     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
28          Section 1. Section 76-2-408 is amended to read:
29          76-2-408. Peace officer use of force -- Investigations.
30          (1) As used in this section:
31          (a) "Dangerous weapon" is a firearm or an object that in the manner of its use or
32     intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury.
33          (b) "Investigating agency" is a law enforcement agency, the county or district attorney's
34     office, or an interagency task force composed of officers from multiple law enforcement
35     agencies.
36          (c) "Officer" is a law enforcement officer as defined in Section 53-13-103.
37          (d) "Officer-involved critical incident" is any of the following:
38          (i) the use of a dangerous weapon by an officer against a person that causes injury to
39     any person;
40          (ii) a fatal injury to any person except the officer, resulting from the use of a motor
41     vehicle by an officer;
42          (iii) the death of a person who is in law enforcement custody, but not including deaths
43     that are the result of disease, natural causes, or conditions that have been medically diagnosed
44     prior to the person's death; or
45          (iv) a fatal injury to a person resulting from the efforts of an officer attempting to
46     prevent a person's escape from custody, make an arrest, or otherwise gain physical control of a
47     person.
48          (2) When an officer-involved critical incident occurs:
49          (a) upon receiving notice of the officer-involved critical incident, the law enforcement
50     agency having jurisdiction where the incident occurred shall, as soon as practical, notify the
51     county or district attorney having jurisdiction where the incident occurred; and
52          (b) the chief executive of the law enforcement agency and the county or district
53     attorney having jurisdiction where the incident occurred shall:
54          (i) jointly designate an investigating agency for the officer-involved critical incident;
55     and
56          (ii) designate which agency is the lead investigative agency if the officer-involved
57     critical incident involves multiple investigations.
58          (3) The investigating agency under Subsection (2) may not be the law enforcement
59     agency employing the officer who is alleged to have caused or contributed to the
60     officer-involved critical incident.
61          (4) This section does not preclude the law enforcement agency employing an officer
62     alleged to have caused or contributed to the officer-involved critical incident from conducting
63     an internal administrative investigation.
64          (5) Each law enforcement agency that is part of or administered by the state or any of
65     [its] the state's political subdivisions shall, by December 31, 2015, adopt and post on [its] the
66     law enforcement agency's publicly accessible website:
67          (a) the policies and procedures the agency has adopted to select the investigating
68     agency if an officer-involved critical incident occurs in [its] the agency's jurisdiction and one of
69     [its] the agency's officers is alleged to have caused or contributed to the officer-involved
70     incident; and
71          (b) the protocols the agency has adopted to ensure that any investigation of
72     officer-involved incidents occurring in [its] the agency's jurisdiction are conducted
73     professionally, thoroughly, and impartially.
74          (6) The officer's name may not be released to the public by any public official or public
75     employee conducting or participating in an official investigation of an officer-involved critical
76     incident, or any person acting on behalf of a public official or public employee, until the
77     official investigation is concluded.
78          (7) Notwithstanding Subsection (6), the name of an officer involved in an
79     officer-involved critical incident shall be released not later than six months after the incident.




Legislative Review Note
Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel