Maryland Begins Drafting Rules for Police Body Cameras

A commission in Annapolis has begun the complicated task of proposing rules for Maryland's police departments to follow when their officers wear body cameras, reports the Baltimore Sun .

Should an officer be required to turn the camera off in certain situations? How long should departments have to store thousands of hours of videos? And who should be allowed to watch them?

The Commission Regarding Implementation of the Use of Body Camera by Law Enforcement — created by the General Assembly and Gov. Larry Hogan this year — faces an Oct. 1 deadline to make its recommendations about such questions and many more. Its proposal will go to a police regulatory commission that is charged with drafting Maryland's rules by Jan. 1.

The rules that result from the process will be binding for law enforcement agencies that decide to use body cameras. State law does not require them.