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Police body cam bill headed to the governor

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — State lawmakers are wrapping up the 2016 Indiana General Assembly with plans to go home Thursday evening and one of the key votes was on the bill to regulate the video from police body cameras.

It’s a bill that will determine who can and who can’t see the video from body cams.

It started out as a source of controversy between law enforcement agencies and the media.

But the state Senate voted unanimously to pass a version of the bill that is now supported both by media organizations and the chiefs of police.

The goal is to encourage more police departments to make use of body cameras.

“The burden of whether to withhold this footage remains within a law enforcement agency,” said Sen. Rod Bray (R-Martinsville) “They have the burden to show why it should not be released.”

The Indiana House also gave unanimous approval to the body camera bill in a vote taken Wednesday night.

It’s now on the way to the governor’s desk.