Sec. 1701.657. RECORDING INTERACTIONS WITH THE PUBLIC. (a) A peace officer equipped with a body worn camera shall act in a manner that is consistent with the policy of the law enforcement agency that employs the officer with respect to when and under what circumstances a body worn camera must be activated.
(b) A peace officer equipped with a body worn camera may choose not to activate a camera or may choose to discontinue a recording currently in progress for any nonconfrontational encounter with a person, including an interview of a witness or victim.
(c) A peace officer who does not activate a body worn camera in response to a call for assistance must include in the officer's incident report or otherwise note in the case file or record the reason for not activating the camera.
(d) Any justification for failing to activate the body worn camera because it is unsafe, unrealistic, or impracticable is based on whether a reasonable officer under the same or similar circumstances would have made the same decision.
Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1134 (S.B. 158), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015.
