Bill Protecting Civilians' Right to Record Officers Clears California Legislature

The California state legislature gave final passage Thursday to a measure that would affirm the public's right to record the actions of police officers, reports the Los Angeles Times .

The bill, which goes now to the governor, spells out that making an audio or video recording of police officers in public places is legal.

It was among a slew of police accountability measures introduced this year in response to a string of high-profile killings that thrust the issue of police force into the national debate. Most of those measures have stalled.

“Cellphone and video footage is helping steer important national civil-rights conversations, and the Right to Record Act is critical to protecting this fundamental right,” the bill's author, state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), said.

Gov. Jerry Brown has not taken a public position on the measure, SB 411.